


Cross My Heart (Hope To Die)

by bookbunnie



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Ace/Aro Revali, Angst, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Link (Legend of Zelda) has a stutter, Link has a sister, M/M, Minor Injuries, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), that isn't canon in the slightest but I think its fun for the story, the sister is actually Uma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26142556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookbunnie/pseuds/bookbunnie
Summary: Holding the torch carefully in front of him, he walked towards the dim glow, before seeing a sword. This sword was unlike any of the ones he had seen before; it was a pitch black color, with a red gem gleaming brightly just above the handle. It was struck into a pedestal, and was tied down by two well-worn pieces of rope tied from the handle into the ground.A dark energy resonated from the sword, but something within Link told him that this sword was safe.
Relationships: Link/Ghirahim (Legend of Zelda), Past One Sided Link/Revali (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 106





	1. Chapter 1

If there was one word to explain how Link felt as he paraglided away from the Great Plateau, confused was not it. Perplexed, maybe? No, that wasn’t it either. Nothing could really be put into words to explain the way that Link felt after the events that had happened, following his awakening from the Shrine of Resurrection, as it was called.

He had heard a voice calling to him in the moments of awakening, and through this mysterious voice, recognized that the castle that had dark energy swirling around it was, in fact, _not_ supposed to look like that. With the old man he had met along the way, he was guided to things called shrines, where he unlocked different runes for his Sheikah Slate — a technological device he was given within the Shrine of Resurrection — and earned what were called Spirit Orbs from the monks at the end of the puzzles within them, learned about Sheikah Towers, which he could fill out his map with, and got the paraglider. He also learned that the old man was actually the late King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, who had passed away 100 years prior, and had waited for Link’s awakening. The King told him that the voice he had been hearing was his daughter, Princess Zelda, and that he had once been her knight. As he had protected her one hundred years ago, it was now his duty to protect her again, and save her.

Link was now on his way to Kakariko Village, as directed by the King, to speak with a woman named Impa. While the name tugged at something in his brain, his mind could not conjure a single fact or picture of her. This frustrated him to no end, because this had not only happened with Impa, but with Zelda as well. From waking up in the Shrine of Resurrection, Link knew absolutely _nothing_ except for his name, and that was probably because Zelda had called him by his name when she was waking him up.

It was weird to Link, how he could hear her voice when she was nowhere close to him. How was it that with Zelda in that darkness-ensued castle, having to fight what was called _Calamity Ganon_ for the past one hundred years and continuing to do so until Link made it there, she had managed to contact him? The more he tried to make sense of it, the less it made sense, so he figured to drop it and instead focus on getting to Kakariko Village.

Once he had safely landed on the ground, Link scanned the paraglider into the Sheikah Slate; apparently, the device could scan in multiple objects and store them, such as food, clothes, bugs, materials, meals he had cooked, and weapons. Looking around, he spotted some ruins nearby, and made his way over. He learned on the Great Plateau to look everywhere for supplies of any kind, whether being food or weapons, as they could help along the way. As he neared closer to the ruins, however, he heard shouting, and something that sounded like snarling. Unsheathing the traveler’s sword he had on his back, as well as the bokoblin shield he had taken from the Great Plateau, he hurried his way over to the ruins, getting a closer look at the situation.

Two hylians (good to know that his kind hadn’t gone extinct in the past hundred years) were being attacked by two ugly red bokoblins. They seemed to be holding up, but their struggle was obvious. Link, having beaten many bokoblin camps already, knew he could handle just two. As quietly as he could, he snuck up behind one bokoblin, and with a singular hard strike, took down the bokoblin, it falling to the ground and disappearing in purple smoke. This caught the second bokoblin’s attention, as it looked to where the other bokoblin had just stood and squealed in surprise. With rage, the bokoblin lunged at Link, to which he quickly parried the attack with his shield and struck his sword at the bokoblin, defeating him in three hits.

When the bokoblin disappeared into purple smoke, Link sheathed his sword and shield and picked up whatever the bokoblins had dropped before turning towards the two hylians, who were now resting against the ruins, looking extremely tired. “Thanks for helping out,” the female hylian said. “I’m sure we’ll get them next time. For now, though, take this as a thank you.” She reached into her bag, taking out a box of fish skewers. “I dunno how much food you have, but some extra food never hurt anyone,” she said, to which Link smiled and nodded in thanks. He took the fish skewers from her, and with a wave to the two hylians, quickly went further into the ruins to check if anything was there. He did find a chest, which held some arrows in them. After scanning in the arrows and the fish skewers, he began walking on the well-worn path he found, and began to head for the glowing yellow mark on the map of his Sheikah Slate, which is where he predicted Kakariko Village to be.

‒

After obtaining the Dueling Peaks tower, the paths of the Dueling Peaks region became much easier to follow, and he now had a more clear indication over where Kakariko Village was. Along the way, the path led to a horse stable, specifically called Dueling Peaks stable. As it was nearing nighttime, Link figured that resting here for the night would be helpful. He had been travelling on foot all day with hardly any breaks, having to fight a bokoblin or even a moblin along the way every now and then, his only breaks being shrines — and those shrines were hardly breaks with the puzzles they beheld.

Thankfully, from picking up a bunch of rocks and selling some items to a man named Beedle, he had enough rupees to pay for a normal bed to sleep in. Despite having slept for one hundred years, Link could not help the feeling of wanting to go back to sleep when he woke up early in the morning. The sun was just barely rising as he walked outside from the stable, and besides him, the only people awake were the man running the stable and a woman sitting by the cooking pot. For breakfast, he decided to have the fish skewers the hylian woman had given him yesterday, before going to speak with the man running the stable.

Well, not really speak. Since waking up from the Shrine of Resurrection, Link didn’t actually _talk._ He made gestures with his hands, which was something his body seemed used to doing by muscle memory. Perhaps he didn’t speak one hundred years ago either, which was how he knew the hand gestures. That would make a lot of sense.

“Hello, good sir. How can I help you today?” The stableman asked. Link spelled out the letters to Kakariko with his fingers, to which the stableman raised his eyebrows. “Ah, going to Kakariko Village, huh? You could make it there by nighttime if you were to go on foot, but you could get there in just half a day's time with a horse!” The stableman grinned, and Link raised an eyebrow. “All you need to do is tame a wild horse and then bring it to me, so we can register it as your horse. There are some wild horses wandering around out back,” He gestured to the ruins just behind the stable, before looking back at Link. “Uh, you do know how to tame a wild horse, right?”

Link was about to shake his head, but stopped short before he did. Somehow, he _did_ know how to tame a horse. Once again, something he probably did one hundred years prior. He nodded his head, and the stableman looked relieved at not having to explain. “Fantastic! Go and get yourself a horse then, and then bring it back to me. I recommend getting a spotted horse for your first horse, though. They’re a bit easier to tame.” With that, Link set off to the ruins behind the stable, and crouched down into the grass.

It seemed like his body worked on it’s own as it crept quietly towards the back of a spotted horse, and at the right moment, he swung himself onto it’s back. The horse whinnied and repeatedly bucked, trying to get Link off, yet Link was quick to soothe the horse, eventually calming it down enough to where he could steer the horse. Before he could steer it back to the stable, however, he felt his body go frozen as images started appearing in his mind rapidly. In an attempt to block them out, he closed his eyes. However, instead of blocking out the images, they began to move, as though playing out through his mind, and suddenly, Link had a memory.

‒

_The sun shined brightly down on the field where Link stood, brushing the mane of his horse, Epona. Epona was a beautiful brown horse with a pretty white mane, and had been Link’s horse since he was a child. Working at the stable with his little sister while his father was working at the palace as a knight was something that he was very accustomed to, and had no problem with. Though he did not see his father much, he was happy when he did, and his sister was easy to take care of. She was only a few years younger than him, but was very headstrong, just like her father. However, when it came to stablework, her headstrong-like ways were her downfall, as she could not bond with any of the horses if her life depended on it. This is where Link excelled, loving to spend time with the horses in the field, especially Epona. He didn’t know why, but he and Epona just had a special connection._

_Looking around at the field, seeing the clear skies and the bright sun shining down, there was just no way that Link couldn’t take Epona out for a run. Judging by the way she huffed beside him, there was no way she could resist either. “You wanna go .. You wanna go for a ride, girl?” Link asked, voice struggling past his lips, yet he smiled all the same. Epona huffed again, nudging his face slightly, to which he laughed and climbed onto the saddle already placed on her back._

_“You’re riding her again? Didn’t you just ride her yesterday?” Link heard his sister call out to him, and he looked around before he spotted her, standing off to the side with her hands on her hips. “You’re gonna tire her out! Horses need rest, y’know! I know at least that much about horses!” Her eyebrows were furrowed, yet the expression she kept on her face was lighthearted._

_“Epona can han-han-han—” he paused, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “Epona can handle it! She’s strong!” Link beamed at his younger sister, before nudging his feet to the sides of his horse, calling out a “_ hyah! _” as he brought the reins down, and Epona took off in a full gallop._

_The feeling of wind in his hair, the grip he kept on the reins, the adrenaline pumping through his veins as Epona raced down the field — Link would never get sick of this feeling. The freedom he felt on the back of his horse was something that he would never lose, would never forget, no matter how hard he tried. This was where he belonged, working in the fields, working with horses. No where else._

_He rode for an hour, maybe two, before Epona began to tire out. Link soothed her, leading Epona back to her stable area. As he removed the saddle and bridle from her, he heard the front door of the house open and close, and a bright grin appeared on his face. “Sis!” He called out, to where his sister was standing in front of another horse, her face scrunched in confusion before looking to her brother. “I think dad’s home! Lets go .. lets go inside!” He shouted. Instantly, his little sister brightened up before running inside the house, and Link laughed as he shook his head. Looking to Epona, he grinned and let out a sigh. “Don’t worry, girl. I’ll be back—I’ll be back soon,” he hummed, stroking Epona’s mane before running back into the house._

‒

Link gasped as he exited the memory, his head pounding slightly as he took his hands off his horse’s mane and pressed his palms against his eyes.That was obviously from his childhood .. he couldn’t have been more than eleven years old, and his sister couldn’t have been more than eight.

His sister. He had a sister, and a father. Where was the mother? She hadn’t appeared once in the memory or in the thoughts of Memory-Link. Perhaps she had passed on? Maybe, Link thought, she will come in a different memory, if something ever gets triggered again.

With a sigh, Link straightened his back, and placed his hands back on the horse, before taking the horse in the direction of the stable. Based on the sun placement in the sky, about fifteen minutes had passed, which wasn’t that bad at all. The sun was now higher up in the sky, and Link basked under the warmth it gave, trying to soothe his nerves before he reached the stableman.

“Ah, I see you’ve found yourself a steed! Good job! Now, with registration we charge a twenty rupee fee for a saddle and bridle. Think you’re up for it?” The stableman asked, to which Link nodded, taking the rupees out from the Sheikah Slate and handing it to the stableman before hopping off the horse as another stable worker went to put the saddle and bridle on. “While that's being taken care of, what would you like to name your horse?” The stableman asked, raising an eyebrow.

Link looked at his new-caught horse. She was definitely no Epona, and Link wasn’t going to simply rename this new horse the same as his old horse. That just felt wrong. He needed to name her something different ..

The idea came to Link quickly, and he signed the name to the stableman. “Ilia, huh? All right, well your new horse Ilia is ready to go. If you ever need advice with your horse, come back here or visit another stable wherever you see one. To form a stronger bond with your horse, I recommend feeding her apples. When you’ve fully bonded with your horse, they follow the paths on their own, so you won’t need to steer them. Be careful out there!” The man advised, to which Link smiled and nodded in gratitude. Before taking off for Kakariko, however, there was a shrine that needed to be taken care of.

‒

By the time Link reached Kakariko Village, it was already afternoon. The shrine had taken him about an hour to complete, and on horseback, the distance from the stable to the village was three hours. Once the village was in sight, Link slowed Ilia to a trot, before stopping her just outside the village entrance. He hopped off her back and took an apple out from the Sheikah Slate, holding it up to Ilia, to which she immediately ate out of his hand. Link smiled at her, patting her mane before walking into the village. As he entered, he looked around, seeing how lively — yet also quiet —the village was. Eventually, as he finally turned to walk down the path through the village, he saw an old woman sitting on the ground, looking as though she were holding her ankle in pain, and he quickly rushed to help her.

Once he was standing over her, the old woman looked up and smiled. “Ah, don’t worry about me, I just sprained my ankle,” she said, before standing up on her own. Once she was up, she leaned against one leg, most likely the one with the uninjured foot, and put her hands behind her back. “Thank you for your concern, young man. My name is Nanna, and you are ..?” Link was quick to sign his name. “Ah, Link, yes, yes .. Pardon me, but is that a Sheikah Slate?” Nanna asked. Looking down at the Sheikah Slate on his belt, he nodded as he looked back at Nanna. “Ah, so you must be here for Impa. She’s in that large house over there, with the stairs,” She said, nodding her head in the direction of the house. Link smiled and nodded his head before walking down the pathway. He spotted a shrine up above the village, but he would worry about that after talking with Impa.

As he neared the stairs, the two guards in front of the stairs pulled into a defensive position. “Hey!” The one on the left shouted. “Don’t come any closer!”

“Yeah! What business do you have with Lady Impa?” The one on the right shouted. Link brought up his hands to sign, yet paused when the guard spoke again, his eyes on the Sheikah Slate. “Wait, is that ..” He muttered.

The first guard seemed to be looking at the slate as well. “The Sheikah Slate ..” He also muttered. After a moment of silence, the two guards dropped their defensive positions and smiled apologetically. “Sorry about that. We have to be very careful with who we let see Lady Impa, but we’ve been expecting a traveler with a Sheikah Slate for a few days now,” the first guard explained.

“Please forgive us. We will allow you to see Lady Impa now,” the second guard spoke, and both bowed to Link. He quickly shook his head with a smile, as if to say he didn’t mind, and started his way up the steps.

At the very top, he saw a girl on her hands and knees, doing what seemed to be scrubbing at the floor. She had bright white hair, and when she looked up at Link in surprise, he saw a red Sheikah symbol marked on her forehead. “OH!” The girl gasped in surprise, instantly standing up. “You-you-you’re Master Link!” She said, her eyes on the Sheikah Slate. “I’m .. I-I’m Pa .. Pa-Pa .. sorry, I know my name, I just— I just struggle with talking. I’m Paya!” She finally breathed out, and Link smiled empathetically. It was nice to know he wasn’t the only person who struggled with speaking. “Impa is inside! You can .. you can go in and talk-talk to her. She’s been expecting you!” Paya explained. Link nodded at her before turning and walking in the door.

He was met by the sight of a small old woman sitting atop multiple pillows, drinking what must have been tea out of a small cup. Upon seeing Link in the doorway, her tired expression changed completely into a bright smile. “Ah, Link, it’s been a long time since I’ve last seen you. You remember me, don’t you?”

‒

Impa had filled Link in on everything. The war 10,000 years ago; how the same war repeated 100 years ago, yet ended with a different fate; and Zelda’s parting words to him: Free the four Divine Beasts!

“I know this must be a lot to take in, especially after only recently waking up earlier this week with no recollection of who you were or anything around you,” Impa sighed, and Link almost felt ashamed as he nodded. “I recommend that you go to Hateno Village. There, you will be able to unlock more on your Sheikah Slate that could potentially help to bring back your memories. When you are done with that, come back here. If you leave tomorrow morning, you will arrive at Hateno by night if you go by horse,” she instructed, and Link nodded, getting up to walk out the door.

“Oh, and Link!” Impa called out, Link stopping and turning to face her. “I recommend you go to the Lost Woods and retrieve your sword, while you are out and about. The forest is in Northern Hyrule. I can feel the energy radiating off of you, Link — you are ready to hold the Master Sword,” Impa said. A feeling thrummed through Link’s body hearing those words, similar to when he got a memory earlier on his horse, and he froze as images popped in his head once more.

‒

_Link was correct about his father being home, and was quick to hug him the moment he got inside the house. “Oh! Link, I didn’t see you there!” His father laughed, gently hugging Link back. “Actually, Link, I have some news for you and your sister. Do you mind sitting at the table for me?” His father asked, to which Link immediately nodded and ran towards the table in the center of the dining room, practically jumping into a chair, which his little sister laughed at._

_Link’s father sat down across from the two siblings, and when he smiled at the two, Link noticed how it didn’t really reach his eyes. Link didn’t comment on it, though, and simply prepared for whatever it was that his father had to tell them. “Link, this has nothing to do with your sister, and everything to do with you, but I believe your sister should be here to know about this as well, okay?” His father spoke, to which he nodded. “Okay .. Link, tomorrow, we will be going to the Lost Woods. You will go in alone, find a sword, take it, and return to us. Then we will go to Hyrule Castle, and you shall train to be a knight.”_

_His body reacted before he had fully processed the words, his hands coming down onto the table as he leaned forward, eyes wide. The shock of his father’s words shook him to his very core, and there was not an ounce of happiness in him. Leaving home? Leaving his sister? Leaving the horses? Leaving_ Epona _? “What!” Link shouted. “I don’t want that! I don’t want—I don’t want_ any _of that! Who will take care of my .. my sister? Who will properly take-take care of the horses?”He continued to shout, staring at his father’s guilty face._

_“I’m stepping down, son. I am too old to still be fighting. I am no longer a knight, and I will be staying here at home,” his father responded. Tears welled up in Link’s eyes, and his father’s frown deepened. “Son, if I could change the way things have to go, I would. But I can’t. Link, look at the backs of your hands.”_

_Through teary eyes, Link looked down at his hands. There was nothing on his left, but on his right was what looked like the outline of three triangles formed together to make one triangle. “The Tri— the Triforce,” he mumbled, feeling defeated. His fate was out of his own control, just because of some stupid triangle on his hand. He’s heard the story of the war from thousands of years ago, knew that the princess with the goddess’s power and her faithful knight would be reincarnated again and again whenever the great evil returned. As cool as it all sounded, that didn’t mean that_ he _wanted to be that chosen hero. But the situation was out of his hands. He looked to his sister, who was staring back at him, looking like she was on the verge of tears. Link hadn’t even thought of how his sister felt about the situation._

_The three sat in silence for a few tense beats, before Link’s father finally sighed. “We will all leave tomorrow morning after breakfast. Link, you will take Epona, as she is your horse, and you deserve to at least have her as your piece of home. For now, go rest. I will call you two out when dinner is done.”_

_Link and nodded, feeling numb as he pushed himself off his chair. His sister ran out of the dining room to their shared room, already crying. Link looked to his father, glaring, eyes full of tears. “I hate you,” Link muttered. While his father’s face didn’t change, it was easy to see the heartbreak in his eyes._

_Those were the last words Link ever uttered to his father._

‒

As Link left the memory, his body shook violently for a moment, and he let out a stuttering gasp, his head pounding just as it had after his earlier memory. He took his hands and pressed his palms against his eyes. “Link? Link, are you all right?” He could hear Impa ask. 

No, he wasn’t okay. He felt overwhelmed, the emotions he experienced in the memory washing over him now. He brought his hands back down and nodded slowly at her, head still pounding as he then rushed out the house and down the steps. He couldn’t think of the memory now. He had a shrine to complete.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link happens to have a very strange dream, containing a very strange sword and a very strange man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay y'all, this chapter did not go as I expected it to at ALL. I'm the kind of writer that just picks a general description for how the story goes (aka, Link gets Ghirahim's and falls in love with him along the journey) but I don't individually plot chapters. I originally expected the whole getting-the-sword thing to go differently, but this happened to be the only plausible way. Most of this chapter is kinda filler-ish, so sorry about that! Also, there are swear words! Only two though. Enjoy!

After finishing the shrine and sleeping at the inn across from Impa’s house, Link made his way towards the Goddess Statue in the center of the village. There had been a Goddess Statue on the Great Plateau, where Link had prayed and given the four spirit orbs he received as a blessing in order to receive more strength. It had worked the first time, and since he had four spirit orbs once again, he would repeat the process.

He hadn’t allowed himself to think of the memory that he had in Impa’s house. It was too overwhelming, and he had to focus on the task at hand: Get to Hateno Village, and get to the Master Sword. With a sigh, Link turned around, walking back along the path, before spotting a man painting … what _looked_ like Impa’s house. It wasn’t the greatest, but it was definitely close. 

As Link walked past him, the painter looked up and saw him eyeing the painting. “Ah, do you like it?” The painter questioned, and before Link could bring his hands up to respond, the painter continued speaking. “I’m Pikango, and I’ve traveled around Hyrule to paint different sights. I came here to Kakariko because of a rumor that a great fountain lays nearby. I’ve tried looking around, but the guards won’t tell me anything!” Pikango scowled for a moment, before letting out a sigh and smiling once more at Link. “Maybe by the next time we meet, I’ll have more answers. Be safe, traveler!”

Link was going to question how Pikango knew he was a traveler, but stopped short when he realized he didn’t exactly look like a Sheikah. With a polite smile and a wave, Link walked off in the direction where he left his horse, and was thankful that Ilia was still standing out there. She snorted at him as he walked up to her, and Link gave her an apple as an apology before climbing on and turning around. He remembered a split path right by the Dueling Peaks stable, he could probably get to Hateno that way. Nudging his horse in the sides, he set off.

‒

It was nighttime by the time Link had reached Hateno. Having to deal with a bunch of bokoblins on the path, as well as going _off_ the path to get to Hateno Tower — where he had to deal with even _more_ bokoblins, as well as moblins — and just dealing with the general distance between Kakariko and Hateno, Link could barely keep his eyes open as he stopped Ilia at the entrance and slid off of her. 

A hylian who had been pacing back and forth in front of the entrance had stopped as Link made his way up to him. The man had a weary look on his face as he looked Link over. “You okay, son? You look exhausted. There’s an inn further into the village, only twenty rupees for a small bed. Go and get yourself some rest,” the man said. 

Link only nodded at him before stumbling through the village. He was thankful that it was late enough for at least the majority of the village to be asleep so no one had to see him like this. He eventually found the inn (it was pretty hard to miss, with it being covered in flags with a picture of the moon on each one and a large sign that said **INN** ) and made his way inside. A woman who appeared to be his age — minus the one hundred years part — stood behind the counter, looking close to falling asleep standing. He hurriedly pulled out twenty rupees before making his way up the stairs and falling into the bed, asleep on impact.

‒

_He was in a forest. It was dark, and smoke surrounded most of the trees. A lit torch was already in his hand, giving a glowing around him, making it a little easier to see. A feeling in his gut tugged him to walk forward, to only move forward and not stray from the path. Link followed this feeling, moving forward through the forest until his feet were no longer touching grass, and instead hit a stone path._

_Said path had diamond shapes spread throughout the stone path, and Link continued forward to where the stone path led him. After pushing trees out of the way and being careful to not stub his feet on any jutting rocks, Link saw something glowing within the near distance._

_Holding the torch carefully in front of him, he walked towards the dim glow, before seeing a sword. This sword was unlike any of the ones he had seen before; it was a pitch black color, with a red gem gleaming brightly just above the handle. It was struck into a pedestal, and was tied down by two well-worn pieces of rope tied from the handle into the ground._

_A dark energy resonated from the sword, but something within Link told him that this sword was safe. He had no idea how he knew, but he_ did, _and so he stepped closer and lowered the torch to the two ropes, both burning immediately before disappearing into ashes. He carefully set the torch down before stepping in front of the sword, placing his feet steady before gripping the handle with both hands. Immediately, the dark energy that had been resonating from the sword seemed to surge into him, yet he persevered, and began to pull the sword from its pedestal._

_He could feel his energy begin to drain as he continued to pull the sword, but he was so_ close _to removing it completely. He couldn’t stop now. Ignoring the dots covering his vision, he gave one last tug before finally,_ finally _, he removed the sword from the pedestal. The dark energy disappeared immediately, and for a moment, everything was still._

_Then, the red gem flashed, blinding Link momentarily, before he saw orange diamonds fluttering in the corner of his vision. Turning quickly to face the direction of the diamonds, holding the sword out in front of him, he was shocked to be met by the sight of a man dressed in white. No, not just dressed in white_ — _his skin was literally white, just as his hair. A diamond pattern was also placed along his skin. His hair covered one eye, but the one Link could see was an obsidian black color, and was staring right back at him. The man had a smirk on his face, and after a beat of silence, the man began to laugh. It sounded sinister, chilling, and froze Link to his core. When the man stopped, he stared at Link again, a strange glint in his eye._

_“Hello there, Skychild.”_

‒

Link woke up with a start, gasping in air as his body lurched up into a sitting position. His head was pounding, and his hands were shaking, and his mind had thoughts running a mile a minute. What the _fuck_ was that, Link wanted to shout, yet he kept himself from doing so, practically convulsing from the effort.

It was just a dream. Just a dream. At least, that was what Link hoped, until he looked to the wall next to his bed, was the same black sword leaning against the wall. With a breathy whimper, Link collapsed back into his bed, covering his eyes with his hands. So it wasn’t completely a dream. Well, it _was_ , yet somehow the dream materialized? Or at least the sword did. Was this the Master Sword?

No, of course it wasn’t. The Master Sword didn’t have that dark energy, that was as much as Link knew. This was an entirely different sword. Yet it was obviously powerful if it came from his dream into _real life_. Who was that man? What did Skychild mean? Did the man come out from the dream as well?

Link pressed harder against his eyes, forcing himself to take deep breaths, trying to calm down. He needed to calm down, he wouldn’t get anywhere by panicking. After a few moments of laying there breathing, he finally put down his hands and opened his eyes, taking a look around the room. It was bright, meaning the sun was already up. The beds beside him were empty, so either he was the only one who slept here last night, or everyone left before he had his meltdown. With a sigh, he took his Sheikah Slate from his belt — which he just now realized he never took off his clothes before he slept — and checked the time.

It was already afternoon, which wasn’t good. He liked to wake up just before the sun rose so he could get an early start, but now he was hours behind. Must have been the damn dream.

Link sighed, hooking the Sheikah Slate back onto his belt before standing up and stretching. He stared wearily at the black sword, waiting for it to do … something. But it did nothing, laying there against the wall, red gem shining almost tauntingly at him. With a scowl, Link put the current sword he was using into the slate before grabbing the sword, sheathing it on his back. He didn’t like how the sword was from his dream, or the energy it radiates, but he’ll have to tolerate it for now. And, once he’s finished in Hateno, maybe when he’ll go back to Impa he will get answers.

‒

This was bullshit. He was _just_ about to get the flame to the furnace when it started raining. Of course it started raining. Thankfully he had lit up the past few posts with the blue flame, so he wouldn’t have to go all the way back. But, according to the Sheikah Slate, he had to wait another couple of hours before it stopped raining. With a groan, Link decided to walk back down along the path and check out the village.

He had met Purah on top of a little hill just outside the village in her workshop, where she told him in order to update his slate, he needed to bring a blue flame to the furnace as “payment.” Link didn’t care much about doing the task, but the weather causing it’s havoc just as he was about to complete the task was pretty frustrating, and definitely dampened more than just his clothes.

The sword had not done a single thing in the past hour since he had woken up, and Link didn’t know whether to be grateful or extremely worried. On one hand, he was happy he didn’t have to deal with that white man, especially since he was in a populated area. On the other hand, if he wasn’t seeing the white man now, then when would he?

He brushed the questions off his mind as he neared the entrance to the village, looking to his side to see some vacant, colorful houses. They stood out completely from the other houses in the village, which were all dull and barely had any color on them, and Link was surprised he hadn’t noticed them the night before. He walked up to the houses, seeing a large sign placed in front of them, reading: **Bolson Construction CO.** When Link diverted his attention farther up ahead, he saw about two men hitting yet another vacant house with some sledgehammers. This house looked just like the ones in the village, not the colorful ones, and yet it looked … older. Lonely, almost, if a house could look lonely.

He walked up the path, crossing the small bridge before stepping up to the man in front of the house. “Hm?” The man turned to Link, looking caught off guard for a moment before putting his sledgehammer down and covering the top of his face with a hand to block out the rain. “Need sumn’?” Link, in turn, pointed to the house, raising an eyebrow, hoping that would get the point across. It seemed to do the trick, as the man raised both his eyebrows in slight surprise before answering, “This house is old and has been abandoned for years, so we’re demolishing it. If you have a question, better go th’boss. He’s at the back.”

Link nodded at him before walking around to the back of the house, walking past another man slamming his sledgehammer against the house before seeing a man, quite literally just behind the house, standing there with a clipboard in his hand. As Link walked up to him, the man looked up, a smile easing onto his face as he saw Link. “Bolson at your service, what can I do for you?” He asked, voice surprisingly bright despite the fact he was getting poured on by rain. 

Once again, Link pointed to the house, to which Bolson replied, “Oh, this house here? This house has been empty for _ages_ , so the village took a vote on whether to demolish it or not, since no one was claiming it. Demolishing it won, and so now we are doing just that!” He grinned, before his eyebrows furrowed slightly. “You weren’t thinking of buying this house, were you?”

Link paused for a moment. No, he hadn’t been thinking too. He was just naturally curious about what was going on. But now that he thought about it, having his own house could do him a lot of good. A place to store weapons, somewhere he could sleep for free — of course, it could use a little renovation, but in the grand scheme of things, that was hardly a problem. So, Link nodded.

Bolson stared at him for a good few seconds before laughing. “Oh, you young kids and your ambition! You do know this house would cost ya 50,000 rupees, right? Do you got that kinda money?” He questioned, to which Link was quick to shake his head. He hardly had 1,000 in his pockets as of now, and even that was hardly enough to get himself all the arrows and food he needed. Bolson sighed, shaking his head. “I guessed it. Here, lemme cut you a deal. I’ll cut the price down to 3,000 rupees — but! In turn, you need to bring me thirty bundles of wood. Sound like a deal?” Link immediately lit up at that, nodding his head. Bolson grinned again, saying, “Then it’s a deal! Hey boys~!” He called, leaning around the edge of the house to look at the two other men, who had stopped their work. “We have a buyer for the house, so let's quit!” The men both nodded, resting their sledgehammers against the wall of the house before going to sit next to a lit cooking pot. Bolson turned back to Link. “Whenever you have those bundles of wood, come back and give them to me,” he said, winking at Link before walking to the cooking pot.

Well, that was another thing on Link’s to-do list.

‒

After the storm had passed and Link had finished the task with the blue flame, night had fast approached. Link made his way back to the Inn, feeling thoroughly exhausted and honestly kinda gross. Being out in the rain for a few hours definitely messed with his physical health, and he was sniffing all the way up the stairs after he paid once again for a normal bed. This time, Link was able to observe that he was the only one who was sleeping at the inn, and once he saw the woman at the front desk leave the building — presumably to go home — Link realized he was totally, completely alone.

Which wouldn’t have bothered him much, if it weren’t for the sword. Still, the sword had done absolutely nothing in relation to the dream he had, and he was beginning to think that maybe the sword wasn’t going to do anything. But he could still feel _something_ radiating from the sword. He knew he couldn’t brush it off that easily. 

As he took the sword and it’s sheath off his back and leaned it against the wall, he stared at it wearily before he lay down in his bed. Closing his eyes, he evened out his breathing, and attempted to go to sleep. Of course, this effort was in vain, because even though he felt like he could fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, he could sense a prickling sensation in the back of his head, warning him not to go to sleep, the thought making him increasingly anxious.

Link didn’t know how long he laid there for, before he heard a weird chiming noise from his side — the side where the sword was. Still, Link did not move, pretending he was asleep. This is what Link had been waiting for, all day. Now he _knew_ he wasn’t crazy.

Again, he heard another chime. And then — he felt a presence. Right beside his bed. The man, Link thought, because who else could it be? He hadn’t heard anyone walk into the inn. It had to be the man. There was a beat of silence, before he heard a _snap_ , and then it felt as though there was something, or rather some things, hovering above Link. In the next silent moment, Link realized he needed to _move_ , and him suddenly rolling off the bed in the direction opposite of the man was met with the sound of quiet whistling and a _thud_ as whatever was previously hovering over Link hit the bed.

He was quick to open his eyes and stand up, taking a defensive stance as he looked at what had just been done, eyes widening in shock. Dark brown, diamond shaped daggers were now stabbed into the mattress, and on the opposite side of the bed stood the white man. Link looked at him with a bewildered look on his face, as if to say, “Did you just try to kill me?”

It was apparent the white man understood that look from the way he groaned, a disappointed expression on his face. “Of course you were awake. I see your instincts are as sharp as ever, skychild,” the white man said. Link’s eyebrows furrowed, confused at the skychild nickname. Why does the man keep calling him that? What does that even mean?

The white man smirked at his confused expression. “I suppose I should introduce myself, shouldn’t I?” He snapped his fingers, and suddenly the daggers dissipated into mini yellow diamonds, before they disappeared completely. The man then laid down in the bed, his eyes never leaving Link’s. “My name is Ghirahim, and I am a spirit who lives in that sword. I have been around for millenia upon millenia, having been created in the era of the first ever hero. I was the sword of Demise, the beginning to the cycle of hatred that you now know as _Ganon_ ,” the man — Ghirahim, explained.

Link’s bewildered expression twisted into confusion, then to anger, then back to confusion. ‘But what does that have to do with me? Why were you in my dream? Why are you here?’ Link signed with his hands, brows furrowed. He still did not move from his defensive position; he didn’t know how likely it was for Ghirahim to try and attack him _again_.

Ghirahim’s expression turned from one of carefree and taunting to a blank, unreadable stare. Link almost felt exposed from the way that Ghirahim looked at him, and moved his hands to sign again before Ghirahim finally spoke. “So you’re another mute reincarnation, hm? When will the goddess ever give you a proper voice?” He spoke, sighing dramatically as he finally broke eye contact and looked up to the ceiling. “Probably never; the goddess has no need for a hero who can speak his opinion.” Ghirahim scowled for a moment, before looking back to Link and smirking. “To answer your question, the reason I appeared in your dreams is because I sensed that you needed guidance. Weird, I know, since I once supported your enemy, but your little goddess decided to give me a new meaning of life, it seems. I don’t know whatever the hell has happened to you, but you _apparently_ need some kind of help, so, here I am.

“You taking my sword in the dream and my sword appearing in front of you afterwards means one thing and one thing only: you are my master. You are the master of my sword, meaning that you are to wield it, and I am to abide to your _every_ command, even if I am against it. Our bond is not to be severed until you put my sword back into its pedestal, which resides in the same forest as your little toy — the Master Sword. Though, I don’t recommend you put me back until you finish defeating Ganon, even when you get your Master Sword. I’m more helpful than that stupid sword will ever be,” Ghirahim scoffed, shaking his head, before squinting his eyes at Link. “Well, I think I’ve told you quite enough. Now, get into bed, chop chop. We leave early tomorrow.”

With a snap, Ghirahim disappeared in yet another flurry of diamonds. Link took a step closer to the bed with wide eyes, scanning over the mattress, and seeing that the rips in the mattress that definitely _should_ be there were nowhere to be seen. As much as Link got answers, more questions bloomed inside of his head. What did the goddess have to do with his voice?

Link chose to block these thoughts from his mind as he climbed into his bed, shutting his eyes and forcing himself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started school this week! Nothing too bad yet, but my updating schedule might be once every two weeks if things get really busy! Sorry in advance! I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link makes it to Rito Village, remembers something he wishes he didn't, and comes to terms with his failure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is an absolute horror. I'm so sorry for the late update, I had to study hard for a quiz because my grade was in dire need of saving, and I had no time to write. This chapter ended up being a complete mess, and I am so so sorry. I haven't edited it yet but I'm publishing it because I know y'all Ghirahim/Link lovers are in need of more story updates. It will get edited eventually, I swear!

Link woke up just before the sun rose, as per usual. His muscles ached from staying in the position he slept in for so long, but he couldn’t be bothered to move and stretch them just yet. Instead, he chose to stare at the ceiling and ponder on the events that occurred just last night.

Was it even real? He didn’t think he could make such an event up in his head, it had been much too vivid to be just his imagination. He turned his head to glance at the sword, seeing the red gem glowing brightly. Yeah, it had definitely been real.

With a sigh, Link pushed himself out of the bed, taking a few moments to stretch out his body before he adjusted his belt and hooked his sheath and shield onto his back. He glanced back at the sword for a moment, seeing if Ghirahim would pop out again, but he made no move to do so. Maybe he will come out when we leave the village, Link thought. With that, he set down the stairs and thanked the woman at the front desk before leaving the inn. He had already gotten the camera rune the day before after taking the blue flame to Purah, and knew that he needed to head back to Impa as soon as possible to confirm what the images that had popped up on the slate were from. 

On top of that, he needed to ask her about Ghirahim.

But, for now, it would be best to walk around and get all the supplies he could, maybe talk to a few villagers and see if he could get any insight on anything about Hyrule. There had to be  _ someone  _ who could explain all the devastation that had occurred. 

After buying arrows and food from the in-town shops, Link decided to walk around the village one more time before he left for Kakariko. As he walked around the side of the village with the inn, he spotted an elderly lady sitting underneath a tree. It came as a slight shock to Link, as he hadn’t seen a single other old person in the entire village. All he had seen were young adults, people in their late teens, or young children. Perhaps, being someone of elder age, she would know something of the Calamity.

Taking a deep breath, Link walked over to her, smiling kindly and waving. The woman, who had been watching people walk by, looked up at Link, and for a split second, surprise flitted over her features. Though it disappeared quickly, fading into a warm smile. “Ah, hello. My name is Uma. What can I help you with, traveller?” Link brought up his hands, signing the words, ‘I am sorry to disturb you. My name is Link. Do you know anything of the Calamity that happened a hundred years ago?’

Recognition appeared on Uma’s face as she watched Link’s hands, warm smile turning into a contemplative expression. She was quiet for a moment before she looked back up to Link’s face, smile returning. “I know very well of the Great Calamity. It happened when I was very young, but I remember everything that I experienced. What is it that you would like to know, Link?”

‒

Ilia was definitely upset with Link by the time he met her outside the village entrance, and Link didn’t blame her in the slightest. With an apologetic smile, Link fed her about five apples, thanking the man guarding the gate for watching her and giving him a silver rupee before he climbed onto his horse and gently kicked her sides, urging her forward. The sun was high in the sky by now, but he still had a few hours before noon came around. His stomach grumbled lightly, be he ignored it. The faster he got to Kakariko, the better.

Ilia was still upset with him, though not as much as before. Even so, Link favored to simply ride in a trot, rather than push her to gallop through the open field. Not too many bokoblins appeared on the path, probably since he defeated most of the camp just a few days ago, so the ride was pretty much peaceful for the most part.

At least, it was, until a certain man decided to appear in thin air right next to Link.

Link let out a yelp, nearly falling off his horse as Ghirahim floated beside him. The sword spirit laughed, the sound metallic and not at all kind. Link scowled, shaking his head as he looked forward. “Aw, what’s wrong, Skychild? You aren’t happy to see me?” Ghirahim taunted, to which Link only sighed. Again, with that weird nickname!

“Oh, don’t be like that. I only wanted to ask you a question,” A grin appeared on Ghirahim’s face, to which Link raised an eyebrow. He spared a glance at the sword spirit, waiting for him to continue. “I’ll have you know now, I am aware of all that goes on around me when I am in the sword,” Ghirahim began, which caused Link to startle, eyes widening.  _ Everything _ ?

“Yes, everything. The things that you do, and your thoughts,” He continued, an almost bored expression on his face as the sword spirit continued to explain. “If I wanted to, I could communicate with you in your mind. Though our bond needs to grow stronger first in order for that to work.” Ghirahim paused to wink at Link, who once again scowled and looked ahead, choosing to never admit how his cheeks felt warm in that moment. “And, based on that, my question is as to why you asked that old lady about the Calamity one hundred years ago? What does that have to do with now?”

Oh, Link thought. So Ghirahim must not be aware of the devastation to the castle. Didn’t he just say he was aware of all that happened around his sword? Maybe that was limited to whoever was his master at the time. With a sigh, Link let go of the reins — Ilia could follow the path on her own, anyways — and began to sign. 

‘One hundred years ago, I was a knight at the castle. Princess Zelda’s appointed knight, apparently. It was our job, along with four champions from the corners of Hyrule, to take down the uprising Calamity. But we failed.’ Link hesitated, seeing Ghirahim’s previously taunting expression turn into one of interest. ‘The Champions died. I nearly did, too, but I was put into the Shrine of Resurrection, while Zelda has been in the castle fighting the Calamity. A hundred years passed before I woke up, and I’ve lost all my memories.’

Link dropped his hands, looking ahead of the path again. He could feel the telltale burn at the back of his throat, but steeled his face and raised his hands back again. ‘I do not remember the Champions, or the princess, or anything we went through. I’ve only recovered two memories, and both had to do with my family, who are now dead.’ With that, Link held onto the reins again, pressing his lips into a thin line in an effort to keep himself from getting emotional.

For the most part, he was frustrated with himself. Frustrated for failing, frustrated for taking so long to heal, frustrated for  _ forgetting _ . He didn’t look back at Ghirahim when he started to speak again. “Ah, I see. So this is your second chance, it seems? Makes sense that your goddess sent me to guide you, then. Probably to keep you from making the same mistakes.

The words stung, but they were the last thing Ghirahim said before disappearing back into the sword. Link did the best he could to not show any signs of being affected. If Ghirahim truly could read into his thoughts and see what he was doing, he didn’t want to give the demon any gratification of a reaction.

‒

“Link! I heard Purah was giving you the roundabout, but you seem to be doing just fine,” Impa spoke with a warm smile after Link had opened the doors and walked inside. With a smile, Link unhooked the Sheikah Slate from his belt and opened it, swiping to the pictures before handing it to Impa. “Ah, yes, this is indeed Princess Zelda’s slate. I believe that if you go to the location of these pictures, you may restore some of the memories you had with Zelda.” The Sheikah woman observed the slate for a moment longer. “It appears you already have some memories, though not of Zelda. The slate stores all the memories you gain, if you wish to rewatch them.”

With that, Impa handed the slate back to him. “If you happen to recover one of the memories you have with the princess, come back to me. I have something that I would like to give you. In the meantime … have you gone to get the Master Sword?” Link shook his head, and vaguely nodded towards the sword on his back. Impa looked at the sword and squinted, before her eyes widened in shock. “Link, how in the  _ world  _ did you get Ghirahim’s sword?”

As if on cue, the sword on Link’s back chimed, and Ghirahim materialized beside Link in a flurry of diamonds. The smirk on his face was smug, but not unkind. “Pleasure to see you again, Impa,” the demon began, lowering himself in a mocking bow before rising back up. “Nice to see your goddess is keen on reincarnating you.”

“How are you in Link’s possession?” Impa asked, her eyebrows furrowed in what looked like uncertainty and confusion. If Link didn’t know any better, he would say she almost looked angry.

“Why, your goddess sent me down to guide him, of course!” Ghirahim exclaimed, his smirk morphing into a grin. “Apparently, since the chosen hero royally screwed up the first time, your goddess chose  _ me, _ of all people, to guide him. And so, here I am!”

Link couldn’t help but wince at Ghirahim’s words, shooting a glare at the sword spirit as if to say  _ Hey, I’m right here!  _ Neither Ghirahim or Impa regarded him, however. The Sheikah looked contemplative, looking down to her hands which rested in her lap. A beat of silence passed, and within this silence Link realized that Paya was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t outside, and she was nowhere in the room — probably upstairs.

“If that is what the goddess has decided to do, then I suppose it is not in my control,” Impa eventually sighed, looking up to give Ghirahim a hard look. “But, if I find out you are doing  _ anything  _ out of line, I will see to it personally that your sword is thrown into Death Mountain.”

Ghirahim seemed to pause at that, grin faltering, but only for a moment. If Link wasn’t so observant of his surroundings — he kind of had to be, being the chosen hero and all that — it probably would have gone unnoticed to him. “You have my word, Impa,” he spoke, a sincerity in his words Link didn’t know was possible, before the sword spirit turned to Link.

“So, where are we off to, o chosen hero?”

‒

Link decided they would first go to the Rito, in the northwest. Since he left the Shrine of Resurrection, he had seen the large mechanical bird flying around, and had been curious about it. Now that he knew of the divine beasts, it was obvious what the large bird’s purpose was.

On top of that, however, his gut was pulling him towards Rito Village. There was something about that place that was giving him some feeling of  _ home _ , and it was strange, considering he didn’t even remember the village at all. Hopefully, that would change once he got there.

There was a flaw in this plan, however. In order to get to Rito Village, he had to make his way through Central Hyrule, and he had a feeling that was not going to be easy. He had heard from some travellers on the road that Guardians, those mechanical pests, were roaming all over Hyrule. 

Link had seen some on the Great Plateau. Needless to say, he was terrified.

So, Link decided the best course of action would be to travel off of the main road to get across. This was definitely a challenge, seeing as he didn’t even have the map yet, but he wasn’t about to risk going up the tower in favor of being fried by a Guardian.

“What  _ are  _ you doing?” Ghirahim drawled, and Link flinched, having not heard him chime out of the sword. It appeared he was not on board with the plan. “Is the chosen hero avoiding enemies? Ha! Pathetic, skychild, truly.” Link glared at the sword spirit, shaking his head. Raising up his hands, he signed, ‘Those mechanical monsters are ruthless. I’m simply picking my battles, like any smart knight would do.’

Ghirahim rolled his eyes and scoffed, before his eyes tilted down towards the Sheikah Slate on Link’s hip. “Impa did say that your slate stores your memories, did she not?” The sword spirit asked, his tone changing from teasing to curious. Link nodded his head. “Well, if that  _ is _ the case, perhaps I should see them,” Ghirahim smirked as he looked back up at Link. “After all, if we are going to be working together, we need to form a strong bond, especially for better communication. And what better way to do that then to see what your  _ whole _ life was like?”

Link hesitated at that. Did he really trust Ghirahim enough to show him his memories? The short answer to that was no, he didn’t trust Ghirahim enough. He didn’t trust Ghirahim at all. However, the long answer was that, if he wanted to form trust with the sword spirit, the best way to do that was to show vulnerability and gauge reactions. Perhaps showing his memories would be the best way at showing his vulnerability, and he can make the decision if he ever wants to do it again based on how Ghirahim will react.

‘There are only two so far.’ Link signed, removing the slate from his belt and handing it to the demon. ‘Both are of my childhood, I think they’re one memory split into two.’ That was all Link said to Ghirahim before his hands resumed their position on Ilia’s reigns, his eyes trained on his surroundings as he looked out for any Guardians.

Ghirahim stayed completely silent as his eyes trained on the Sheikah Slate, and they travelled in silence for a total of ten minutes before the slate was finally handed back to him. “Well, I suppose that information wasn’t completely useless. You could speak?” Ghirahim asked, to which Link wordlessly nodded his head. “You had a stutter as well. Now you don’t speak at all?” Again, Link nodded. “Any idea why?” Link furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head, already annoyed with the sword spirit’s constant question.

“Oh yeah, you probably don’t remember. I’m sure you will eventually,” Ghirahim spoke before disappearing into the sword, and whether he was saying that condescendingly or comfortingly, Link did not know.

‒

It had taken two days for Link to make it to Rito Village. Thankfully, there were many stables along the way, so both he and Ilia got a place to rest. He wasn’t sure if Ghirahim had needed any rest; he hadn’t even used the sword to fight yet, and the sword spirit had not appeared from the sword since he viewed the memories. 

Link couldn’t pay attention to that now, though, because he was  _ so close  _ to the village, he just knew it. The gigantic bird was also a dead giveaway. He stepped outside of the Tabantha Bridge Stable, groaning under his breath as he stretched. He walked towards the stableman at the front, and requested for his horse to be taken out.

As he waited, he looked up the bridge to see what he’d be dealing with. There was …  _ something  _ flying around, but he couldn’t really see what it was; he was too far away. He looked further upwards and saw a shrine sitting up high on a ledge. It’s too high to climb, Link thought, and I don’t have any climbing gear. I’ll take care of that shrine later on.

He was startled out of his thoughts when his Ilia trotted in front of him, and he silently thanked the stableman before climbing onto her back and kicking her forward, crossing the bridge. Now that he was closer, he could finally see what was flying around—

Guardians. Flying guardians.  _ Of course. _

Link had two options: one, move strategically around them so as to not get shot at, or two, burst through them and pray to Hylia that Ilia can move fast enough to avoid their beams.

As much as option one was  _ probably  _ the smarter move, just judging on how narrow the path was, that was near to impossible. So, spurring through and praying to Hylia was his best bet. Giving Ilia a soothing pat, he kicked her in the sides, and she went into full gallop. He somehow managed to narrowly miss the first flying guardian’s view, but he wasn’t so lucky with the second. Bringing down the reigns hard, he spurred Ilia just as he heard the telltale beep. Looking to his side, he saw the devastation of the laser beam and was oh so grateful that he had survived.

It took a few hours before Link had finally managed to reach Rito Village. Still, he had heard not a single thing from Ghirahim, and was beginning to get worried. He had gone from very talkative to absolutely nothing, and if that wasn’t concerning, Link didn’t know what was.

Link had Ilia boarded at the stable just outside the village before making his way up the wooden bridges, willing himself to not look down and see where he would go if he were to fall. Eventually, he made it to the entrance. Just as he was walking up, a loud sound resonated from the mechanical bird.

Up close, Link had a better view of the Divine Beast, in all its glory. It soared menacingly above Rito Village, and judging by the look on the entrance guard’s face, this was definitely not the first time it has ever made that noise. “You’ve come here at a bad time, traveller,” the guard said as Link walked up to him. “Vah Medoh has been restless. It is said that it once protected the village, but I don’t know how that was ever to be with the way that thing is now.”

With a sigh, the guard moved out of the way for Link to enter, and he smiled at the guard before walking across the last bridge. This village had to have a leader of some sort, and if the roundabout stairs held any indication, the leader was most likely at the top. So, Link began his journey of ascending the steps, taking about five minutes before he finally,  _ finally  _ reached the top.

He was met with the sight of a huge plank, most likely a landing spot for Rito’s who flew around. A large symbol of the Rito was painted directly in the middle. Something about the landing was familiar, and as he stepped closer, he noticed a sign.  **Revali’s Landing** was printed on the sign, and something twisted in Link’s gut. Revali, that was one of the champions, he should have a memory of him. But as he looked at the landing, nothing seemed to trigger. Dejected, Link continued on.

Once he had finally reached the end of the walkway, he was met with the sight of a very large Rito inside of what Link assumed was a house (it looked very different and open compared to the houses in Hateno Village) and figured, yeah, that was probably the leader of the tribe.

Releasing a quiet breath, Link stepped into the small home-like structure, catching the attention of the Rito. It was then that Link realized the other male’s resemblance of an owl; he hadn’t seen any of the Rito with that kind of resemblance. It surprised him for a moment, before he shook himself out of his stupor. He was about to raise his hands to speak, but the Rito chief spoke before he could. “Ah! I know you, little hylian!” 

Link rose an eyebrow — yet another person that he had no recollection of. “Yes, yes, I know you. You are the princess’s knight! You came to Rito Village many many times … ah, but that was a hundred years ago! A hylian should not live that long and still look so young!” The Rito chortled, a fond expression on his face. Link was quick to raise his hands, explaining the Shrine of Resurrection and his current quest.

“Ah, I see,” the chief replied. “So you remember nothing, hm? Well, to refresh your memory I am the Rito chief, Kaneli. The champion of the Rito, Revali, had fallen in the Great Calamity battle from a hundred years ago. Since then, Vah Medoh has been causing many troubles for us. Now and again, Rito soldiers attempt to put a stop to the beast’s terrors, and every time, the canons that protect the Divine Beast’s shield will attack them,” Kenali shook his head, a solemn look on his face. “Just last week, two warriors, Teba and Harth, went to appease the beast. But Harth was struck, and is now in healing. But I fear that Teba will now try to go alone.”

Kaneli’s gaze rose towards the mechanical bird in the sky. Link cleared his throat to gather the Rito’s attention. ‘I can appease the beast. Tell me where Teba is, and I shall help him.’ Kaneli eyed Link for a moment, before letting out a jolly laugh. “Ah, ever the warrior, my boy! Teba will probably be at the Flight Range. But I am old, I could not possibly take you there on my own. You will have to ask around for the location.” Kaneli beamed down at Link, in which he returned with a warm smile. “Be safe, my boy.”

Link nodded, before turning on his heel and walking out. The sun was setting now, and he figured it would probably be best to rent a bed at the inn. With that thought in mind, he set to walk down the million sets of stairs. 

“Traveller!” A voice called out, startling Link to turn around. A purple-feathered Rito was peeking her head out of her home, waving her wing to beckon Link to her. His brows furrowed as he stepped towards her. “I heard that you are searching for my husband, Teba. He will be at the Flight Range, which is over that way, in the mountain,” the woman explained, pointing her wing to the side. Link followed where she was pointing, managing to see a shrine peeking out of the snow. If the Flight Range was anywhere, it was probably there, Link thought.

He looked back to the Rito and smiled, signing a ‘Thank you’ to her. The Rito nodded, “Of course. I just want my husband to be safe, he worries me everytime he goes to fight that beast. Your best way of getting to the Range will be jumping from that platform.” She nodded towards Revali’s Landing, and as Link gave the platform a hard stare, images began to swarm through his mind, and his body stilled as his mind was thrown into another memory.

‒

_ Once again, the princess had decided to return to Rito Village. She insisted that she still had to do research on the Divine Beast, and of course Link was not allowed to object. _

_ Unfortunately, the pilot to the Divine Beast hates Link’s guts, and will only allow the princess on board, meaning Link has to meander through the village with a horrible feeling in his gut because what will he do if something happens to the princess? _

_ Link should probably put more faith into Revali, after all, he was an extremely skilled archer. But his arrogance could cause him to misjudge the danger around him, and  _ that  _ is what caused the majority of Link’s worry. _

_ And yet, despite the fact that Revali hated him, that Revali was oh-so arrogant, he couldn’t drop the butterflies in his stomach every time he saw the Rito warrior. _

_ He walked onto the large landing, staring up at the Divine Beast and letting out a sigh. Link hoped that Zelda would finish up her research soon. The faster everything here was finished, the faster they could leave the village, meaning that he could put Revali out of sight and out of mind and focus on the task at hand. Yet, it seemed that the goddess was not on his side today as Revali suddenly bursted into the air directly in front of him, causing him to stumble back in surprise. _

_ The Rito warrior landed on the edge of the landing, the usual arrogant smirk on his face, and Link nearly (keyword: nearly) flushed in embarrassment of being caught off guard, but steeled his expression quickly enough. “Impressive, I know. Very few can achieve the mastery of the sky,” the Rito boasted, and Link resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The Rito continued to boast about his accomplishments, of how he would have been a much better choice of defeating Ganon, and Link tuned him out in favor of keeping his cool as Revali seemed to only move closer to him. _

_ “Perhaps we should settle who is better, setting it with a one on one, hm? But where could we possibly do it … oh,  _ I _ know, how about up there?” In a grand gesture, Revali shot his wing up to point at the Divine Beast, and Link glanced up, an unimpressed expression on his face as he stared back at Revali, who looked absolutely ecstatic. “Oh, you must pardon me. I forget that you have no way of getting onto the Divine Beast on your own!” The Rito gloated, letting out a laugh. _

_ Link absolutely adored that laugh, but he would never admit that. _

_ Eventually, the Rito ceased his gloating, smirking at Link and tilting his head. “Tell me, Link, are you still holding onto those pathetic feelings for me of yours?” He asked, to which Link flinched. He mentally cursed himself, why oh why did he allow himself to react. The Rito only sighed, shaking his head. “You know those feelings will never be reciprocated. Get over yourself, hero.” _

_ Link glanced away, embarrassment coursing through his veins. Thankfully, Revali chose to take his leave at that moment, soaring into the air. He barely registered Revali calling out, “Good luck sealing the darkness!” before flying towards Vah Medoh. _

_ Link did not cry. He did not. _

‒

Link blinked his eyes rapidly as he came back from the memory, his head pounding. “Traveller! Traveller, are you alright?” The Rito woman asked from beside him. Quickly, he nodded to her, somehow managing to sign thanks to her before stumbling out and down the steps, hurrying to the Inn as fast as possible. He payed with the little rupees he had left and sat himself on one of the beds, holding his head in his hands and massaging his temples in an effort to soothe the pounding.

He had loved Revali, that much was apparent. But the love was not reciprocated. It may have been a hundred years ago, and he may not have those feelings anymore, but the rejection still stung, and his heart still ached. 

Stupid, it was so stupid.

Eventually, it became late enough for the Rito at the front desk to return to her home, and Link was once again left completely alone. That was until Ghirahim suddenly materialized next to his bed, of course. The demon said nothing, simply taking the Sheikah Slate from Link’s belt and opening it. Link didn’t have the strength to argue with him over it, simply sitting in silence as he waited for the sword spirit to say whatever was on his mind.

A solid five minutes had passed before Ghirahim spoke. “You loved him.” It was more of a statement than a question, yet Link nodded his head in response anyways. He felt Ghirahim set the slate down, before removing his hands from his face. His hands were shaking. ‘I let him die.’ He signed, tears stinging at his eyes. ‘I let them all die. It’s all my fault.’

He tilted his head upwards, blinking his eyes and wiping at them with his hands. He couldn’t cry. He had to push through, had to be strong. He had to avenge them, save them all. He could feel Ghirahim’s eyes on him, but didn’t dare to look back at the demon. “You know,” he finally spoke, “only a fool believes that vulnerability is a sign of weakness. In fact, being vulnerable is the bravest thing you could ever do.”

Ghirahim disappeared into the sword. Link cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so psyched for Age of Calamity how about y'all. I can't wait to go through an emotional roller coaster seeing all the Champions die. Also, I have a very non-canon, very self-indulgent plan for Uma. Be prepared.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link appeases Vah Medoh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter! Sorry for not updating last week. I developed a low-grade fever and had a covid-19 scare, but I'm safe! No covid for me! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! Please remember to leave a comment, even if its just a "nice" or a ":)" it will make me feel very happy! :D

Link rose early in the morning, as per usual. After he had tidied himself up, he made his way out of the inn, just as the innkeeper was walking in. Link smiled at her, then turned to walk up the stairs. He had to jump off Revali’s landing and get to the Flight Range.

He hoped he wouldn’t have another memory.

After his and Ghirahim’s conversation last night, the sword spirit hadn’t said a word or made an appearance, as he usually did. Link wondered if the demon slept at all. Maybe that was why Link never saw or heard from him in the mornings. 

On his way up the steps, he stopped in front of what appeared to be an armor shop. “Selling warm clothes!” A Rito standing outside the shop said, looking down at Link with a customer-service-smile. “Perfect for Hylians such as yourself!” Link raised an eyebrow, shrugged his shoulders and walked inside. 

“Hello, traveller,” The Rito at the front desk spoke as Link walked in. “Here, we sell the Snowquill armor set, it will help you get through the cold temperatures. It would do you a great justice, since we are in the Hebra region, and it snows just about everywhere.” He gestured his wing towards the armor on display, and the blue-eyed warrior turned to look it over. He looked back to the Rito and raised his hands. ‘How much in total?’ The Rito hummed, pondering it over for a moment before responding, “That would be 2,150 rupees.”

Link’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He didn’t have that kind of money! He barely had a thousand rupees, and he didn’t necessarily have anything that he could sell except monster parts. But even then, that couldn’t be enough to get him a thousand extra rupees. The Rito seemed to sense Link’s inner turmoil, because he began to speak again. “Hey, kid, if you just get the tunic and boots, it’ll only cost you a little over a thousand rupees. I’m sure that would be enough for now to help you survive the cold.”

Again, Link thought it over. He did already have the tunic from the old man, which sufficed pretty well in the cold. But, it was, well, old, and had quite a few holes in it. It would be best to get a new tunic anyways, and he was sure the boots would do more justice than a headpiece with some rubies and feathers. With that in mind, Link looked back to the Rito and nodded his head, exchanging the rupees he had and collecting the armor, leaving the armor shop. The village was pretty open, but he managed to find a hidden corner to quickly change into the armor before pressing on and continuing up the steps.

He could feel an aching in his heart as he walked onto Revali’s Landing, but ignored it in favor of looking out at the view. He hadn’t really gotten a chance to take a look around the day before, but Link could already confirm that Rito Village was absolutely gorgeous, along with the scenery surrounding it. He turned to where the Flight Range was marked on his map, and with a small exhale, he ran and jumped off the platform, immediately pulling out his paraglider. It took about a minute before his feet landed on snowy ground, and he shivered slightly. Thank Hylia he chose to buy the Snowquill set.

Quickly, he surveyed the area, spotting some bokoblins on horses, as well as the tell-tale orange glow of a shrine. If he could sneak past the bokoblins, he’d make it to the shrine safe and sound. It was snowing, which gave him good cover (he was quick to learn that bokoblins had  _ horrible  _ eyesight), so he chose to make a run for it. In a matter of seconds, he was already at the shrine. Glancing back at the bokoblins on horseback, he let out a quiet sigh of relief that they hadn’t noticed a thing. Activating the shrine with his slate, he let out a breath and stepped inside.

‒

It was midday by the time Link stepped back out of the shrine, the puzzle haven taken a bit of time. How those monks thought that those puzzles would help him defeat Ganon, he had absolutely no clue, but he knew that he had to finish them all. Looking to his left, he saw a path from the shrine go beyond two large pieces of rock, and he figured it would lead to the Flight Range. After all, the slate showed a yellow dot around the same area.

Link made his way down the path, the snow efficiently slowing him down, which was more than a little annoying. Eventually, he could see a slightly tall building in the distance, as well as multiple targets hooked up around a hollow section of the mountain in the shape of a circle, a single pillar in the center.

There was no memory as Link stood there, admiring the Flight Range, but there was familiarity. There was a certain warmth here, one that he felt comfortable with. It was nice until Link realized it was probably from his past feelings of Revali, and the warmth quickly dissipated. He no longer had any feelings for Revali — how could he, when he barely remembered the guy? — but it didn’t make the memory of rejection sting any less. With a sigh, he pressed on down the path until he stood in front of the high structure, spotting a ladder and quickly climbing up. It was weird how they built a ladder when the Rito could literally  _ fly _ , but it made Link’s life a little easier, so he wasn’t about to complain. 

When he got to the top, the first thing he noticed was an already lit cooking pot, and he was quick to stand in front of it, rubbing his hands together. Taking a small look around, he noticed a bow and a few arrows laying on a desk on the other side of the structure. Taking those would be useful, but they could belong to somebody, and stealing wasn’t really on his bucket list. As he looked to the side, he saw an opening where another platform was built, which led out to the area of targets. There, he also spotted a snow-white Rito, fiddling with his bow, and Link immediately figured that he must be Teba. After all, no one else was here.

Link paused for a moment by the fire, trying to get as warm as he could before stepping away from it, walking out towards the platform. He could see the Rito tense up as one of the floorboards creaked, and turn his head back slightly. “Yeah?” The Rito spoke, looking Link up and down with a disinterested look before going back to his bow. “I don’t have time for travellers. You’d best get going.”

The blue-eyed warrior pursed his lips before stepping forward and lightly tapping Teba on the shoulder, resulting in the Rito glaring at him. Link ignored this, however, and raised his hands to sign. ‘My name is Link. I was sent here by Kaneli and your wife. I came to help you appease Vah Medoh.’ At this, Teba’s eyebrow perked up. “You? Appease Vah Medoh? You wouldn’t be able to get up there without flying, and Hylians like you don’t have wings,” he said. Link stood there still, a determined expression on his face.

Teba eventually sighed before standing up. “Here. If you can strike five targets before three minutes are up, then I’ll take you up to Vah Medoh myself. Deal?” The Rito questioned, to which Link nodded his head. “Great. There’s a bow and a few arrows inside. You can use those,” Teba instructed, crossing his wings against his chest. Immediately, Link turned, grabbing the bow and arrows and placing them on his back before walking back out to the platform.

Inhale, exhale. Concentrating on the task at hand, Link ran across the platform and jumped, taking out his paraglider. Instantly, he was propelled upwards from the updrafts. He steered himself to the side, where he was closer to the targets, and switched his paraglider out for the bow and arrow. It was as if time slowed down as Link notched the arrow, aimed, and fired. He managed to strike three before needing to take out the paraglider again, the updrafts bringing him back up. 

“One minute down!” Teba called out from the platform. Link furrowed his eyebrows in concentration as he steered himself near more targets, before once again switching the paraglider for the bow and arrow. Notch, aim, shoot. Once he knocked down two more targets, he pulled out his paraglider again, and let the updrafts carry him back to the platform. He was met with a look of awe and surprise on Teba’s face. “That only took you a minute and a half. I’m impressed, Hylian. As promised, I will take you to Vah Medoh. However, there are four canons that guard the beast, as well as a shield. You will need bomb arrows to shoot down these canons. Here,” The Rito paused, going into the small structure before coming out with a chest. “In here are twenty bomb arrows, that should be enough. Don’t try shooting at the shield, it will do you nothing. Oh, it will also be very cold up there. When you feel as though you are prepared enough to go, tell me.”

Link went down onto one knee and unlatched the chest, opening it to reveal twenty bomb arrows, as Teba had just told him. He brought them out of the chest, putting them in his quiver, before doing a mental check of what he had. He had the bomb arrows, he had a bow, he had the Snowquill armor so he shouldn’t be too cold, and he had a plethora of food to keep him full on his expedition through Vah Medoh. With that in mind, he stood back up, nodding at Teba.

The Rito warrior nodded back, before lowering himself to the ground, spreading his wings. Link took the hint and moved behind him before setting himself down against Teba’s back, placing his hands on his shoulders and his legs at his sides. The Rito brought his wings up slightly before pushing them down, and in a matter of seconds, they were propelled into the air. Link tightened his grip on Teba, because falling was definitely  _ not  _ favorable.

As they reached higher into the sky, they began to near Vah Medoh. “All right, here’s the plan. I distract the canons, and you shoot them with the arrows. If you need to regroup, just hang in the air with your paraglider, and I’ll come to you,” Teba instructed, glancing over his shoulder to the dirty blond hylian. “You ready?”

Link nodded, eyebrows furrowed in determination, and once they were close enough to the Divine Beast, he jumped off of the Rito’s back, taking out his paraglider. He watched as the pink shield activated over the mechanical bird, it letting out a screech as the canons came into view. He watched Teba distract the first cannon, and immediately Link neared it. The updrafts carried him too high up to be able to get a good aim from the canons, so, with barely thinking twice, Link collapsed the paraglider and let himself fall before taking out his bow and notching a bomb arrow.

Again, it was as if time slowed as he aimed for the canon, releasing an arrow. He could see the cannon damage, but not completely die out, so he shot another arrow before replacing the bow with the paraglider. The cannon exploded, and he could hear Teba let out a cheer. “Doing great, kid! Keep going!”

Link glided over to the next canon to the left, repeating the process, as well as with the last two. Once he had released the last arrow, and all the cannons were destroyed, the shield finally dissipated, and Link grinned as he soared up with the paraglider, his eyes following Teba as he flew around him. “You got them all kid!” The Rito cheered, letting out a laugh before faltering, groaning as he looked back to his talons. It was then that the smile was wiped from Link’s face, seeing the burn mark on the Rito warrior’s talon.

“Looks like I got nicked pretty bad there,” Teba sighed, looking back at Link. “Looks like you’re gonna have to deal with Vah Medoh on your own. I need to go back to the Flight Range to heal up. You got this, kid,” The Rito grinned, making a thumbs-up with his wing before flying back in the direction of the Flight Range. Link, on the other hand, glided down to the platform on the edge of the Divine Beast, collapsing the paraglider the moment his feet touched ground.

A small sigh escaped Link’s lips. Even though he was thousands of feet above real ground, it was nice to have his feet on something solid rather than dangling in the air. However, the peaceful moment broke as he heard the telltale chime of Ghirahim leaving his sword. “Jumping off platforms, riding on the backs of gigantic birds … ya know, I’m starting to see some similarities. Call it deja vu, if you will,” the sword spirit snickered, prompting Link to look at him with an expression of confusion. Ghirahim noticed, his face collapsing into a scowl. “Oh, forget it. Just activate the pedestal already,” he huffed, crossing his arms and looking away from Link. It reminded him of a child, really.

Ghirahim’s mention of the pedestal lead Link’s eyes to a pedestal not unlike the ones he found on towers, and the dirty blond walked over to it before placing his Sheikah Slate inside. The pedestal turned blue, as well as a large Sheikah Symbol on the floor of the platform.  **Travel gate acquired** , read the slate. There was a beat of silence, before Revali’s voice seemed to echo from all around, “Now, now, I’ve seen that face before.”

‒

“So, who exactly are  _ you _ ?” The spirit of Revali floated next to Ghirahim, his form giving off a brilliant hue of mint green. To Link, he can’t see Revali at all, and between the distance where Link was solving a puzzle to where Ghirahim was in the corner, he can’t hear the spirit either. Ghirahim, on the other hand, being a spirit being himself, can see Revali just fine. Even seeing the late Rito in person didn’t help Ghirahim see whatever the past Link saw in him.

“My name is Ghirahim, and I am the spirit that resides in the sword on Link’s back,” Ghirahim spoke with vague disinterest, his eyes trained on the hylian trying to find the eye of a mass of malice. From the corner of his eye, he could see the Rito’s feathers ruffle; whether that was from annoyance or surprise, Ghirahim didn’t really care.

“ _ Sword spirit _ ?” Revali sputtered, shock on his features. “I knew that the Master Sword had some kind of voice inside of it, but an entire spirit?” The Rito glanced at the sword on Link’s back before looking back at the demon. “But you aren’t the Master Sword.”

“That would be correct, yes,” Ghirahim replied, looking at Revali with squinted eyes. “My sword once belonged to a creature named Demise. He was actually the beginning of the entity that you know as Calamity Ganon,” he spoke with confidence, ignoring the look of alarm on the late Rito’s face. “But, not to worry. Your little goddess decided I needed redemption and put me on a task to help the current Link so he doesn’t lead everyone to their deaths once again.”

To Ghirahim’s surprise, Revali scowled at that statement, crossing his wings against his chest and holding his head high. “Link is not the reason that we Champions are dead. Technically, it’s the princess’s fault. Realistically, our battles are our own; we did what we could to survive, and obviously, us Champions didn’t.” The spirit sighed, watching Link figure out he needed to alter Vah Medoh’s position to unlock the puzzle. “I used to be angry that I couldn’t fight Calamity Ganon on my own. That it was Link’s duty solely because of the Master Sword. I had trained to be the best my  _ entire  _ life, and I was just cast to the side,” he scoffed, before his expression soured. “But then, I died to a puny creation of the Calamity. Not even the Great Calamity himself, and yet I  _ died _ .”

Ghirahim looked away from the Rito to watch as Link finally made it to the terminal. There was only one more that he needed to get before they took back the main control unit. “I believe I was too harsh on Link when I was alive,” Revali suddenly spoke again. “He told me of his feelings, and I reacted so harshly. I personally have never felt any type of attraction towards anyone before … but that doesn’t excuse my actions.”

Looking back at the fallen Rito warrior, Ghirahim could see he was visibly upset. “If it’s any consolation,” he began, Revali looking back at him as he began to speak, “Link has lost all of his memories. He has no feelings towards you anymore.” Though it did not show in his voice, Ghirahim felt prideful as he spoke, which worried him. It has been thousands of years since he has last seen  _ his  _ Link, his skychild, whom he had been in love with. He couldn’t be connected to this current Link, not after the heartbreak he went through of his last Link’s death.

And the fact he would never see him again because he can  _ never _ die.

Revali’s wings uncrossed and laid at his sides as he looked back to watch Link. “If it took him forgetting everything he once knew to lose his feelings for me,” he said, letting out a small sigh. “Then so be it.”

‒

Link stood on the back of Vah Medoh, finally finished with activating all of the terminals. It took him about two hours, and while his body was exhausted from it, he couldn’t rest now. He had to activate the main control unit, and gain back control of the divine beast. It wouldn’t be fair to Revali if he decided to take a nap right before ending his one hundred year torture. “Have everything, skychild?” Link could hear Ghirahim speak from behind him in a sing-song tone. He turned slightly, glaring at the sword spirit before nodding, then jerking his head towards the sword. The demon rolled his eyes before disappearing in a flurry of diamonds, and Link could feel the telltale warmth on his back radiating from the sword.

Letting out a quiet exhale, the Hylian champion stepped up to the main terminal, bringing out his Sheikah Slate and setting it down. Instead of the normal color change to blue, malice began to swirl from the terminal. Link took a step back in surprise, before the malice shot out behind him. He quickly turned around, pulling out Ghirahim’s sword and his shield, watching as the malice began to take form into some kind of being. It had a bright blue eye, with two arms, one being a cannon. The blue eye glinted brightly, before the being let out a screech. “That  _ thing  _ is Windblight Ganon. It proved to be my demise one hundred years ago, but only because I was winging it!” Revali’s voice resounded, to which Link snorted. What a stupid pun. “Best of luck, Link!”

With that, Windblight Ganon let out another screech, before bringing his arm back and forcefully pushing it forward, creating a tornado that was aimed straight for Link. The warrior dodged it by running towards one of the updrafts, sheathing his sword and shield and bringing out his paraglider before jumping up, letting the updraft carry him. 

If there was anything Link has picked up on, it’s that every enemy has a weak spot. If that bright blue eye meant  _ anything  _ at all, it had to be the Blight’s weakness. Within seconds, he switched from the paraglider to the bow, and once again it seemed time had slowed. He released three normal arrows in quick succession, each landing straight onto the target. Windblight let out yet another screech before collapsing to the ground, unmoving, but every much alive. Link landed before running over to the Blight, taking out his sword and shield before repeatedly stabbing at the creature, it’s body jerking with each strike.

Eventually, Windblight managed to get back up, aiming at Link with his cannon arm and shooting multiple shots at him, to which he barely reacted in time to block the beams with his shield. In his effort to evade the attacks, he slowly moved backwards, unknowingly nearing the edge of the divine beast.

Then, the Blight created another tornado, and Link didn’t have enough time to avoid the attack. The force of the wind caused him to drop the sword and shield on the ground, blowing him off his feet and knocking him over the edge of Vah Medoh. He only barely managed to grab onto the edge, his body dangling. A fall from this height would surely kill him.

Panic coursed through his veins. He had to move fast. He didn’t have enough upper body strength to propel himself back onto the beast; Revali was a trapped spirit, he couldn’t do much of anything; he couldn’t communicate with Ghirahim through his mind yet, according to the sword spirit’s words. One of Link’s hands slipped, and he let out a yelp, only holding onto Vah Medoh with one hand now.

Ghirahim did mention that he was aware of the events occurring around his sword, Link remembered. He could feel his other hand slipping. In blind panic, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “GHIRAHIM!”

The sudden use of his voice burned his throat, but he hardly had time to focus on that his hand finally slipped, and he began to fall. He let out a scream, closing his eyes, before he felt a hand wrap around his forearm. Opening his eyes and looking up, he saw Ghirahim — who looked positively  _ furious _ — holding onto him, and felt relief flood his body. The sword spirit pulled him back onto the divine beast, and it was then that he realized the area surrounding the two of them was blocked off by a wall of diamonds, effectively keeping Windblight from being able to attack them.

“Get back up and  _ fight _ , you dunce!” Ghirahim all but shouted at Link before disappearing back into the sword, the wall of diamonds also falling. The hylian swallowed before nodding, picking back up the sword and shield before sheathing them and running back to an updraft.

He repeated the process of shooting at the Blight’s eye, attacking, and avoiding being attacked ( _ without _ falling off the edge this time), before Windblight let out a long, defeated screech, malice erupting from its body like blood before it exploded, the malice disappearing out of thin air. With a sigh of relief, Link fell to his knees, panting heavily in exhaustion. He nearly died. He nearly  _ died _ .

And he spoke. He actually managed to speak. Those two things definitely were putting Link into shock.

But he had a job to do. He still had to activate the main control unit. With a groan, he pushed himself back up to his feet, sheathing the sword and shield as he stumbled over to the terminal. He barely had the strength to bring out his Sheikah Slate, but he did anyway, and set it on the terminal. This time, it erupted into the all-too-familiar blue. 

“Well, who would have thought?” Revali’s voice suddenly spoke, and Link turned to his side to see the green spirit of the fallen Rito. His wings were behind his back as he eyed the hylian, a smirk on his beak. “You may have nearly died, but you managed to defeat Windblight and survive. I’m impressed. I believe this feat is evidence enough that you deserve my gift, a power I shall bestow to you, dubbed  _ Revali’s Gale _ !”

Wind seemed to swirl around the spirit, an orb of energy forming between his wings, before he pushed it in the direction of Link, the wind aiding it to push directly into his chest, just like the spirit orbs. He felt himself be lifted off the ground before he soared higher into the sky, and he smiled tiredly at the feeling before he landed back down on the ground, looking at Revali in admiration and awe.

The Rito sighed, looking away from Link. “Your job is far from finished, you know. Save the princess, save Hyrule. We have all been waiting a very long time,” Revali spoke, and Link began to feel a bit tingly in his gut. Looking down, he realized his body was materializing away, and he looked back at Revali, taking in the sight of him, for that would be the last time he would see the Rito warrior in front of him.

The world turned dark before color was brought back to his eyes, and he found himself back at the Flight Range. He looked up, seeing the previously flying Vah Medoh, now sitting calmly on its perch, a brilliant red beam shooting from its beak and aiming for Hyrule Castle. “Link?” He heard a voice ask, and looked back forward to see Teba sitting inside the small structure, a bewildered look on his face.

Link managed to take one step forward before the world turned black once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He speaks! :0


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A late chapter once again! I spent the majority of Wednesday evening (when I would normally finish writing a chapter) studying for a quiz, spending four hours in total. I got an A though, so it was worth it. Also, Wednesday was my partner and I's six month anniversary !! Super exciting !! Also, I have a tumblr now !! @bookbunnie !! Here you can see me talk about little plots for the story, see me rant about how Revali is best boy, and ask questions or make requests !! <3

“I didn’t see you when I met Link, how can I trust that you’re telling the truth?”

“You can trust that I am because I have yet to tear you to shreds, bird brain.”

“ _ Excuse me _ -”

The not-so-quiet banter was what welcomed Link back to consciousness, and in the first second he woke, he felt a pleasant numbness throughout his body. In the seconds that followed, however, he was met with an intense pounding on his head, a soft ringing in his ears, and an ache throughout his body. The onslaught of pain triggered him to groan, which effectively shut up whoever had been arguing. He was so exhausted that he couldn’t even put the voices to faces.

“Link!” Ah, he knew that one. That one belonged to Teba. Slowly. He opened his eyes, his vision slightly blurry despite blinking multiple times. He managed to make out Teba’s body, and could just make out Ghirahim brooding in the corner of the roost. “Thank Hylia, you’ve been out for a few hours, kid.”

A noise of confusion left the blue eyed warrior. He’s been out? Why was he out? It took him a few moments before he remembered fighting Windblight Ganon and his near death experience.

Oh, and that he  _ talked _ .

“Yeah yeah, hey bird brain, can you leave? I think I can take care of  _ my master _ from here,” he heard Ghirahim hiss. Although the sudden title confused Link, he could hardly process it through the pounding in his head. Teba let out an infuriated squawk before storming out of the roost, taking off in flight the moment he reached the ladder, and it was now that Link realized they were in the Flight Range. Carefully, Link pushed himself up by the arms, getting into a sitting position and leaning against the post that held up the hammock he was in. Apparently, Ritos were not accustomed to beds, and used hammocks instead — the inn being an exception, of course, being for travellers and all.

There was a tense silence between the two, before Ghirahim spoke up, “Never in my  _ life _ have I seen such pathetic fighting. How did you not realize you were getting too close to the edge? Are you aware  _ at all  _ of your surroundings?” Link flinched at the sword spirits words. He hadn’t shouted them, but the anger was clear through and through. “And then, suddenly, you find your voice? Of course, in a life or death situation. Can you still speak?”

Link whipped his head to look at Ghirahim — not the smartest thing in the world, and he paid for it with his vision going dizzy for a few seconds — and was met with Ghirahim staring back at him expectantly. Link was ready to bring his hands up to respond, though stopped short. He set his hands back down in his lap and stared straight ahead, taking a deep breath. “I … I don’t …” He began, voice breathy and hoarse and barely audible. He cleared his throat, which was extremely dry, and tried again. “I don’t … know.”

He glanced back at the sword spirit, the tension in his shoulders relaxing as Ghirahim’s expression of anger died down to a more solemn one. He let out a sigh, pushing himself off the wall and walking to stand beside where Link lay. “The tornado incident caused you to twist your ankle. It would heal faster if we had fairy tonic, but you don’t have any. I need your permission for me to go and get you some,” he said. This has to be the most calm Link had seen Ghirahim, he thought, nodding his head. In a split second, Ghirahim disappeared in a flurry of diamonds.

Link sighed. Too much has happened in the little time he was awake. He settled back into the hammock, rolled to his side, and slept.

‒

“We’re going to start training lessons,” Ghirahim suddenly spoke as Link went over his things, the statement surprising him as he looked up at the sword spirit with wide eyes. “Your fighting is atrocious,” he scoffed. Link rolled his eyes and stood up, having everything that he needed. It had taken the entirety of the day for the tonic to heal his ankle, as well as for the aching and pounding throughout his body to disappear, and it was now the next morning. 

‘We’re seeing Kaneli before we leave.’ Was all Link signed before gesturing to Ghirahim’s sword on his back. The demon scowled before disappearing, leaving diamonds in his wake as the warmth returned to Link’s back. Link took out his Sheikah Slate, opening the map and clicking on the shrine in Rito Village to teleport to.

He shut his eyes, doing his best to not retch at the horrific feeling of his body disappearing and reforming. He didn’t think he would ever get used to that. Unfortunately, it was the fastest way to travel. With a sigh, he shook out his body to rid himself of his queasiness, and made his way up to Kaneli’s roost.

The owl Rito’s eyes lit up in admiration as Link came walking in. “Ah, Link! I will never be able to thank you enough for how you have helped our village with the divine beast!” He said, which caused Link to smile bashfully, scratching at the back of his neck. “To show you my gratitude, I thought of something to give you. In this chest,” he paused to gesture to the chest on the side of the room with his wing, “Is something that once belonged to the great champion Revali. I think you will find it to be very useful.”

With a curious look on his face, Link walked over to the chest, kneeling down to unlock it and open it, a short gasp escaping him as he reached in to take out the object inside.

It’s Revali’s bow. He may not be able to remember much, but if he remembers  _ anything _ , it’s Revali’s bow.

“That’s the bow that the champion Revali once used before he fell. It can hold up to three arrows,” Kaneli explained, though Link was hardly listening, his eyes locked on the bow as he ran his hand down the arrow rest and the bow handle with one hand, the other gripping the bowstring. He heard Kaneli chuckle. “It is yours, now. If you have any questions about it, I suggest seeing Harth. He’s always been good about bows,” The owl Rito spoke. Link looked to him, nodding with a grateful expression before turning and leaving the roost, placing the bow to rest on his back against his sword and shield.

As soon as he left Kenali’s roost, he heard a shout of, “Kid!” come from the next one over. He walked over towards the home and peeked inside, seeing Teba sitting in the center. His wife was currently busy with a very small child Rito, who shared many features with Teba, and so Link mentally concluded that it must be their child. He beamed at Teba as he stepped inside, the snow white Rito rising to his feet. “I’m glad to see that you’re better. I assume that you will be leaving the village, now?” Teba asked, Link nodding in response. Teba let out a sigh, “Well, then I best be getting to the Flight Range. Tulin here wants me to teach him a few things,” he spoke, the young Rito perking up at his name before running from his mother’s arms and attaching himself to Teba’s leg. Link smiled at the sight, taking a step to the side so Teba would have the room to leave. As he stood right beside Link, he placed a wing on his shoulder. “Don’t be a stranger, pay us a visit sometime. I believe Tulin would be delighted to see you in action,” Teba said with a grin, before leaving the roost.

“I never introduced myself, did I?” Link heard the female Rito say, turning to face her and being met with a look of horror. Link smiled reassuringly and shook his head, watching as the Rito’s feathers ruffled up. “Oh, silly me! How very rude! My name is Saki. Thank you for helping out with the divine beast, and from keeping my husband from getting into too much trouble. If you ever need anything, our family will provide for you.” Link smiled graciously, nodding his head and giving her a short bow before turning and leaving the roost.

As Link made his descent down the stairs, he took a look at the map on his Sheikah Slate. Despite having multiple blanks, he was still able to see the markers of where the other divine beasts would be. The next best one, he figured, would be the bottom right, as according to the slate, that was Zora’s Domain. There was a certain familiarity resonating with the place, and no better way to see why it felt so familiar than to check it out himself.

The problem was, however, figuring out how to get there. He could ride Ilia all the way back to Kakariko and then carry on by horse there,  _ or _ he could teleport to the shrine in Kakariko, go to the Dueling Peaks stable by foot, wait a day for Ilia to be exchanged, and be on his way. Riding on horse left the risk of running into enemies, while teleporting risked wasting time. Neither was favorable.

Link let out a sigh as he finally reached the bottom of the village. He hooked the slate back onto his belt, and turned to face the Goddess Hylia statue, before closing his eyes and tilting his head down, lacing his fingers together and bringing them to his forehead.  _ Please _ , he thought in silent prayer,  _ watch over me in my travels and protect me. _

He opened his eyes and brought his hands down, staring at the statue for a few moments before walking out of the village, bidding the Rito guard at the entrance farewell before crossing the bridge to Rito Stable. It was here that Ghirahim decided to pop out of the sword, which visibly shocked some passersby, but no one spoke a word to either of them. “Honestly, your thoughts are so loud, I’m sure a Hinox would hear them if you were to walk by one!” Ghirahim hissed, to which Link shrugged in response. 

“I think you should teleport to Kakariko. You recovered a Champion memory, did you not? That could be enough to warrant whatever  _ gift _ that old lady said she wanted to give you. And to avoid wasting time, I will simply teleport your horse to you when you need her. Simple as that!” The sword spirit annunciated his words with a snap, and Link’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘You can teleport things?’ The weirdly chipper mood Ghirahim was in seemed to dwindle a bit, yet he let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. “Of  _ course _ I can teleport things! I’m a demon lord, for crying out loud!”

Link gave him a weird look before shrugging and taking back out the Sheikah Slate and pressing on the shrine in Kakariko village before clicking the teleport button, bracing himself for the queasiness he would experience.

‒

“Ah, so you’ve recovered a new memory, hm?” Impa said, grinning at Link as he nodded. “Well, then, I shall do as I told you I would. Paya, dear?” The aforementioned girl looked up to her grandmother from where she was kneeling on the floor to clean. “Do you mind fetching the Champion’s tunic for me please?” With an eager nod, Paya leapt to her feet and dashed up the stairs. Link, meanwhile, scrunched his face in curiosity.

That question was soon answered when Paya came back downstairs, a blue shirt neatly folded in her arms. She handed it to Impa, smiling shyly in Link’s direction before taking back her position on the floor to clean. “This was gifted to you by Princess Zelda herself when you were appointed as the Hylian Champion. We have kept it here, safe, waiting for your return. It is yours, now, so do well to take care of it,” Impa said, still smiling, though her eyes were serious as she handed the tunic to Link.

He deftly took it from her, nodding in response, his eyes glued to the tunic. “If you wish, you can run upstairs to change into it,” Impa said, and Link nodded once more before carefully but quickly making his way up the steps, missing the way Paya’s face turned the color of a tomato. He set the tunic down on the bed in the room, taking off the Snowquill armor he still wore, along with his weaponry. He set that down, picking up the Champion’s tunic after. 

The shirt was a brilliant color of blue, with white lining around the neck area making the shape of a sword. He eyed the shirt for a while, getting lost in thought before hearing a low whistle come from the corner of the room. Letting out a yelp of shock, Link pressed the tunic against his chest and looked at the corner of the room, eyes wide as he saw Ghirahim sitting on the dresser. They looked at the sword before looking back to the demon, eyebrows furrowing. He never even heard Ghirahim leave the sword. “I see a hundred years didn’t soften your physique at all,” The sword spirit smirked, leaning forward to look Link up and down.

Color rose to his cheeks as they began to feel warm, and he glared at Ghirahim. “Get-get back in the sword!” Link exclaimed, his voice still sounding rough, but  _ much _ better than it had earlier in the morning. Ghirahim rose his hands up in defense.

“ _ What _ ? You can’t expect me to not be just a little curious as to what you’re packing,” The demon said, his tone teasing. Link’s face burned hotter as he pointed to the sword, continuing to glare at the other. Ghirahim eventually let out a sigh, rolling his eyes, “Fine, fine, I’m going!” Pouting, the sword spirit snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flurry of diamonds, and Link turned to the sword to see if the red gem glowed. When it did, he let out a sigh of relief, before slipping the tunic on.

He sidestepped so he was in front of the mirror on the dresser, checking to see how he looked. He twisted his body around, staring at himself for a few solid moments before blushing in embarrassment and going back towards the bed. From here, he got rid of the Snowquill pants and instead put on the pair of hylian trousers he found in a chest back on the Great Plateau. He’d probably have to do a bit of shopping to find the other pieces of the clothing set. Once he was changed, Link scanned the excess clothing into the Sheikah Slate and reattached his weapons to his back and belt before descending down the stairs.

Paya was no longer in the room, but Impa still sat on the stack of pillows she always sat on, and smiled at Link the moment she saw him. “Looks just as it used to on you. Treasure that tunic, Link. If it gets ruined at all, bring it back to me, and I will have Paya fix it. She’s always been better at sewing than I am,” The Sheikah woman said, and Link smiled and nodded, signing a ‘Thank you.’ to her before opening the doors and walking out of the house, walking down the stairs. 

He had gotten a few feet away from Impa’s place before spotting Pikango, back in his spot by the Hylia statue, seemingly pondering to himself. Link raised an eyebrow, remembering that Pikango had wanted to speak to him the next time they saw each other, and so he turned on his heel and walked towards the painter.

Pikango seemed to recognize him immediately, perking up with an excited grin on his face. “Traveller! I think I’ve finally discovered where the fairy fountain is! Or at least, I’ve speculated it. Come, follow me,” The painter said, and before Link could argue that now, he was kind of busy, he shouldn’t really get off task, Pikango was already jogging off. The Champion sighed before jogging after the older Sheikah, following him up the small hill that held the Shrine at the top, with a small pathway behind it that Link somehow didn’t notice before. As they reached the path, Pikango suddenly paused, leaning over to pant and catch his breath. “It’s up farther this way,” He instructed. “I can’t go any further, I’m too exhausted. If you see it, do you mind taking a picture of it for me?”

Link, who was barely breathing heavily at all (after dealing with Windblight, it would be pretty surprising if he was out of shape by now), nodded his head and continued forward on the path. Shortly, he paused, seeing a large, pink object coming out of the ground. Around it, bright blue flowers were planted around the object, and small fairies flew close to the ground. Quietly, he knelt down, walking across the wet grass and, when he was close enough, snatched the fairy and scanned it into the Sheikah Slate as quickly as possible. As he thought, the fairy would help with healing purposes.

He went around, snatching the rest of the fairies before collecting some of the flowers. Finally, he went to the front of the pink object in the ground and walked up the little walkway, peering over it. It looked like a closed flower. After a beat of silence, a large hand reached out through the petals, stunning Link as he took a few steps backwards.

“Boy, sweet boy…” A low, feminine voice resonated from the flower. “I am a Great Fairy … Once upon a time, many people came to visit me and ask me for my powers, but over time I stopped getting visitors, and my magic weakened. Please … I need 100 rupees to be restored to my better self…” The voice spoke, and Link restrained himself from rolling his eyes at how ridiculous it sounded as he opened back up his Sheikah Slate, deducting one hundred rupees, a silver rupee appearing in his hand. Carefully, he placed it into the extended hand, which retracted the moment the rupee landed in it.

Then, the petals began to push outwards before eventually bursting, and a large woman soared out of the flower. She was adorned in jewels, her skin pale and her hair nearly as white as snow. The petals had now separated, forming an open flower, and the bottom half of the woman’s body was submerged in water. The woman looked down at him and beamed, leaning down towards him, and Link was suddenly afraid that she would crush him into pieces.

“Thank you, boy. As repayment, I will upgrade any clothes you choose, as long as you have the correct materials. Hm …” It was as if the Great Fairy was looking straight through him — which wouldn’t surprise him  _ too  _ much, seeing as this is a magical being — before she let out a sigh. “Currently, I don’t see any clothes that I can upgrade with the materials you have at hand. When you collect more things, come back to me, and I will see what I can do.” The Great Fairy winked at him before twisting herself down into the water, letting out an exclamation as she did.

Link stood in stunned silence, blinking a few times before shaking himself out of his stupor. He still had to take that picture for Pikango. Looking around, he saw a small rock jutting out from the ground a few feet away from the fountain and decided that would be the perfect angle to shoot from. He stepped off the walkway and went onto the rock before taking out his Sheikah Slate once more. He opened up the camera rune before aiming at the Fairy Fountain and taking a picture.

Looking it over and feeling satisfied with his work, he stepped off the rock and walked back along the path to Pikango. Wordlessly, he showed the painter the picture, and he looked less than satisfied, before looking back up at Link and saying, “Oh … that’s it? Huh, I was expecting something a bit more … oh, nevermind.” He shook his head, letting out a sigh before smiling at Link. “Anyways, thank you for your work! In the future, if you have any pictures from around Hyrule, just show it to me, and I may help you identify it. I’ve been around Hyrule multiple times, after all.”

‒

The picture Link had shown him was some kind of gate, and Pikango directed him to go back down the path of the Fairy Fountain, but to continue walking instead of stopping. There would be a split in the road, and he was to turn right and go to the East Gate, which was in the image. Link had thanked him, turned around, and went on his way. 

It would have been peacefully quiet, if not for Ghirahim reappearing. “Don’t you think this is a waste of time? Shouldn’t we be off saving your friends?” The sword spirit questioned. Link’s cheeks flushed — he still hadn’t recovered from Ghirahim seeing him shirtless — before shaking his head. ‘Gaining as many memories as possible will assist me in saving the rest of them.’ He signed, looking straight ahead as he took a right and walked past the West Gate. ‘Besides, if I’m gonna save the world, I want to remember it.’

He could hear Ghirahim scoff. “I think it’s really cheap that you forgot everything. Glitch in the Sheikah technology, or another little blessing from your goddess?” Link turned to look at the demon, eyebrows furrowing as he watched the other glare at the air in front of him. He cleared his throat.

“What is it with you and the goddess?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. His voice was still hoarse, and his throat still burned as he talked, but with the more he spoke, the less apparent the pain was. Ghirahim spared him a glance before sighing and crossing his arms. 

“Nothing that you need to know now, skychild. Perhaps at another time. Right now, you should focus on those bokoblins up there,” Ghirahim replied, extending an arm to point at a small group of three bokoblins, sitting around a fire. Link stopped short, seeing the bokoblins, and then looking around beyond them. Multiple groups of bokoblins and moblins littered the walkways, and he was sure he could see some lizalfos swimming in the water.

“Ah,” Link sighed, body instantly deflating. He was so exhausted, he didn’t even want to bother fighting the monsters; from the look Ghirahim gave him, he didn’t seem so willing to help either. “Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hated writing the Fairy Fountain scene if it isn't apparent already ksjdfdkj


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link learns something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy, okay so a few announcements hehe  
> 1\. I am SO sorry for taking so long to update. October was a mentally and emotionally exhausting month for me, and in November I attempted NANOWRIMO but uhhh ... it didn't really work djhfjsj i never got past making the characters so thats fun.  
> 2\. I'm sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the others! It has some backstory kinda but it feels more filler to me idk.  
> 3\. I've only gotten to like Chapter 4 of AOC and so far I'm kinda digging it. It's not as amazing as I thought it would be (story wise, a lot of things contradict BOTW), and I'm planning on keeping AOC away from this story, so nothing in AOC is canon in this story and it's just purely based on BOTW and my headcanons.  
> 4\. Follow me on tumblr! I post on there and give little updates on writing or stuff I've found (recently got over 300 notes on a little Miphvali post and I just kinda :0) so follow me @bookbunnie !!  
> 5\. Enjoy the chapter :)

_ Zelda was completely silent as they made their way to the East Gate, where the Champions were waiting. It wasn’t uncommon for the princess to not speak for a while — she would hardly speak to him at all in the beginning, when he was first appointed to her — but the tensity surrounding her gaver her silence a completely different feel.  _

_ In truth, Link pitied her. Her entire life, she had been trying to unlock the Goddess Hylia’s power, all for naught. When she hated him in the beginning, he hardly blamed her for it; he was sure he would act the same way if some knight just waltzed in with a fancy sword and was proved to be Hylia’s warrior. He had it easier, in some ways, when it came to destiny compared to Zelda. _

_ He walked in silence slightly behind her, wanting to comfort her somehow, but he knew that wasn’t his place. As they reached the gate, Link could already see the Champion’s faces drooping. “Well?” Daruk asked, voice low and gravelly as always. “Don’t keep us in suspense! What happened up there on the mountain?” _

_ “Nothing, I’m sorry,” Zelda replied. Even though she had already looked upset, it seemed admitting it aloud caused her shoulders to droop. Link watched from behind her, and couldn’t bring himself to mask his emotions when he felt so sad for her. She didn’t deserve this. _

_ “Nothing at all? Not even just a little bit?” Revali questioned, and once again Zelda shook her head. Normally, Revali talked as though he were constantly boasting about himself. But now, he seemed weary and concerned. By the looks on the other Champion’s faces, they noticed this as well. _

_ “Well, don’t give up just yet,” Urbosa said, taking a step forward to place a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure that there is more that we can do. We’ll have other chances.” Her tone was authoritative, and she looked confident, but Link could tell she was trying to convince herself of the fact as much as she was trying to convince Zelda. _

_ “That’s kind of you, thank you,” The princess replied, her eyes trained on the ground. Link went to take a step forward, to  _ finally  _ just say  _ something _ to her, but the Zora princess beat him to it. _

_ “If I may,” She began, stepping closer to Zelda. “I, well … I’m not really sure how to put this into words, but …” She glanced down at her hands before looking back up to Zelda, who was now looking back at her. “When I perform my healing, it helps …” Mipha glanced at Link for a split second before looking back to Zelda. “It helps, when I think about—” _

_ Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and the Champion’s and the princess nearly losing their balance from the unanticipated disruption. Link watched as Revali created his Gale and soared into the sky, watched as his curious expression turned to one of shock, watched as he slowly descended. “It’s here,” he said. _

_ “Are you sure?” Mipha asked, her grip tightening on her trident.  _

_ “Positive.” _

_ “It’s here, Ganon,” Zelda gasped, and Link was quick to step forward and grab her hand. She glanced back at him, gratefulness mixing in with the terror in her eyes. _

_ “Well, no playing around!” Daruk said, and the Champions turned to face him. “Champions, to your divine beasts! Link will need all the help he can get to fight Ganon. Little guy,” he looked down at Zelda and Link. “You make your way to the castle. Pump Ganon into oblivion!” Link could hear Revali scoff from beside him, but he could hardly pay attention to him now. _

_ “Princess, we need to get you to safety,” Urbosa said, taking another step closer to Zelda before her arms were pushed away. _

_ “Wait! There has to be something I can do! I’m not much of a fighter, but, there must be  _ something  _ that I can do!” Her voice was desperate as she looked around at all the Champions. No one made a move to do anything. _

‒

Link gasped as the memory faded out, the pounding in his head once again returning. He brought a hand to his forehead and cursed.

Of course the memory ended there. Of course, this was one of the first memories he got involving all the Champions. He can remember the dread that radiated off of everyone, could still feel it now. “Well,” he heard Ghirahim speak from beside him. “That was …”

“Cruel,” Link finished for him, putting the Sheikah Slate back onto his belt. Apparently, the slate could play the memory as it went through Link’s mind, so Ghirahim was able to watch it by standing over his shoulder.

Ghirahim had no reply, rather choosing to stare at Link instead, which prompted the Hylian to let out a sigh. “We should probably get going. We need to get to the next divine beast,” He said, turning to face the sword spirit. “I think we should go to …” His voice got caught in his throat. His eyebrows furrowed as he attempted to push the words out, but to no avail.

Well, that was cruel too. He miraculously managed to still have a voice after sleeping for one hundred years,  _ without _ his stutter, and yet it doesn’t even work completely. Link let out a bitter sigh before raising his hands to sign. ‘We should go to Zora’s Domain. It’s closest from here.’ He watched as Ghirahim raised an eyebrow. “What? Cat got your tongue?” He questioned mockingly, and Link only scowled at him before pointing to the sword. With an eye roll, the demon snapped, smirking before complying and disappearing in a flurry of diamonds.

Link was curious as to why Ghirahim had snapped before he heard the neighing of his horse. His eyes widened as he turned and saw Ilia standing beside him, hooves digging into the ground. He grinned before pulling himself up onto her saddle, patting her neck before kicking his feet into her sides and urging her forward. 

‒

There was only one stable that Link ran into, which was Riverside Stable. By then, he had been travelling for hours, and the sun was beginning to set, so he decided to rest for the night. In the morning, he’ll continue on foot.

After boarding Ilia, he paid for a bed with the little rupees he had left (He really needed to sell stuff, and soon. Maybe if he spots Beedle in the morning, he’ll sell his monster parts) and walked over to the one the stableman pointed to. He removed his sword and shield, resting them against the wall before sitting down on the bed. He pulled out his Sheikah Slate to look at the map. 

They were closer to Zora’s Domain than he thought; on foot, it would probably take him two hours at least to get there, which prompted a groan. Taking his horse would be so much faster, but he doubted there would be any stable closer to the Domain. 

That being the case, the smartest idea would be to go to sleep. At least, that was what Link had planned before Ghirahim suddenly appeared out of the sword. “And just what do you think you’re doing?” The sword spirit raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips, Link flinching back in surprise. He gaped at the demon for a moment before raising his hands. ‘I’m going to rest. We have a long day tomorrow.’

“Oh? Is that so? Because I remember specifically saying we were going to start practicing fighting. Obviously, a hundred years of sleep has dwindled your fighting abilities. You aren’t going to be able to conquer this next divine beast with those lackluster skills of yours,” Ghirahim chided, and Link pouted at him. “Now, get up. We’re going to practice behind the stable. You’re using my sword.” With that, Ghirahim snapped and disappeared.

Link sighed, already feeling the ache in his body of what's to come. He stood up, gathering his sword and shield once again and making his way out to the back of the stable. There, he saw Ghirahim standing. No longer did he wear his burgundy cape, and he held a word of his own, one that was much slimmer than the one Link held. Ghirahim glanced at him. “We aren’t using your shield, for now. You will either dodge or deflect with your sword.” 

Again, Link sighed, dropping his shield near the stable tent before stepping in front of Ghirahim, holding his sword out in front of him as he eyed the sword spirit expectantly. Rather than taking out a sword (or creating, Link figured, since Ghirahim didn’t appear to have a sword on him), the sword spirit stuck out his right palm, a red energy radiating from it. “Strike my hand,” Ghirahim commanded.

Link spluttered, lowering his sword as his eyes widened. “You want me to  _ what _ ?” He exclaimed. Ghirahim didn’t move, giving Link an unimpressed look, and the Hylian groaned before positioning himself again. He took a deep breath before striking at Ghirahim’s hand.

What he did  _ not  _ expect was for Ghirahim to grab his sword. Bare hand on the blade. This caught Link off guard, and his body tensed before the sword was suddenly wrenched from his hands. He stared, jaw slack as the demon twirled the sword in his hand. “Your stance was horrible. You got distracted far too easily. Your grip was so loose the sword could have left your hand itself.” The sword spirit deadpanned, before handing back Link his sword. “Try again.”

They went back and forth multiple times, Link striking at Ghirahim’s hand and successfully forcing the sword spirit to take a few steps back; other times, he didn’t get so lucky, and his sword was taken from him again. All in all, it settled into a peaceful routine. That was, until Ghirahim snapped his fingers, and multiple daggers appeared in thin air in a diagonal line. Pointing directly at Link. In seconds, they were heading straight towards him. 

Link gasped before slashing his sword in a diagonal shape, cutting through the daggers as they disintegrated into tiny diamonds. “The hell was that for!” Link hissed, looking at the sword spirit, who was shaking his head in disappointment. 

“Your reaction time was slow. Goddess, Skychild,” The demon sighed, “You’re going to be more work than I thought. All right, that’s all we’re doing tonight. Now, go eat and go to bed.” Link scowled at Ghirahim, walking back to where his shield sat in the dirt before making his way to the front of the stable.  _ Who does he think he is, my mother? _

There was something peculiar in the exchange he and the sword spirit had just shared. It was like the practice had an underlying meaning to it, something Link had experienced but he couldn’t put his finger on it. There was no memory triggered, however, so the Hylian shrugged it off and made his way to the front of the stable to cook something to eat.

‒

“Are you sure that you shouldn’t be bringing your horse?” Ghirahim asked, prompting Link to groan. This was the fifth time within the past hour of walking that the sword spirit had brought his horse up, and it was getting harder and harder for Link to resist strangling him. 

“Like I said before,” Link began, voice twisted in irritation, “The Zora are fish folk. It wouldn’t be sensible for them to have any sort of stable when they have no need for horses. Bringing Ilia and then having no place to keep her safe is risky.” Ghirahim scoffed, flicking his head slightly to move hair out of his face in his  _ very _ dramatic flair. “Can’t we talk about something else?” The Hylian sighed, glancing at the sword spirit before looking back ahead of him. 

“What exactly is there to talk about? You aren’t going to suggest a game of I-Spy, are you?” Ghirahim snipped, and Link rolled his eyes at him.

“How about you tell me about you? You’ve been discovering a lot about me lately with all the memories, but there isn’t a single thing I know about you, other than the whole, ‘demon sword-spirit who once served my enemy in a different point in time and is now suddenly on my side because the goddess asked him to be.’ Gets kinda old after the first couple of times of hearing it,” Link shrugged, looking back to the demon once more. He had a passive expression on his face as he kept his stare in front of him, though he lacked his normal flair. “Maybe … you could tell me about your Link? How you met?”

At this, Ghirahim shot the Hylian champion an almost scandalized look, his body tensing before he relaxed, his mouth setting into a deep frown as he looked ahead once more. “It started when I sent a tornado into the sky,” The demon began, ignoring the confusion that appeared on Link’s face. “My powers used to be a lot stronger, you see. The tornado was strong enough to bring the little Goddess down to the Surface, or what you know as the land of Hyrule.

“Your princess is a direct descendant to the Goddess bloodline, however  _ she _ was the first resurrection of the Goddess, also named as Zelda. If it weren’t for Link, I probably would have gotten my hands on her once and for all. He was a terrible fighter, like you.” 

Link scoffed, scowling at the sword spirit. “I didn’t ask to be insulted—”

“Do you want to hear the story or not?” Ghirahim snapped, glaring down at the Hylian. When there was no response, the demon sighed and continued. “He was a terrible fighter. His sword was hardly long enough, and it wasn’t even all that sharp, and I pitied him at one point. I mean, this boy who has no idea  _ what  _ he is doing has been sent on some quest with a sword that's barely even usable? What kind of sick joke is that!

“However, it didn’t take long for me to realize the power behind that sword. It had another sword spirit in it, you see. Her name is Fi, and thanks to the fact that she was formed by Hylia herself, every slash from her blade burned me in a way I had never felt before,” Ghirahim grimaced, his hand shooting to his stomach before immediately falling back to his side. “That sword is still around today. You’ve used it, actually.”

“The Master Sword, you mean?” Link asked, his mouth gaping open. “There’s another sword spirit inside the Master Sword?”

“That’s what I just said, aren’t you listening?” Ghirahim scoffed, shaking his head. “Anyways, that stupid boy kept me distracted enough that the little Goddess got away, and so formed a new hatred for him. Many times after that, as I got closer to the Goddess, so did he, and he  _ kept getting in my way _ ,” Frustration built up in his voice and his hands clenched into fists, before he released another sigh and calmed down once more. “I had always believed that I hated our interactions. So it came as quite a shock when—”

“Say, hey there!” A voice suddenly called from seemingly out of nowhere, effectively bringing both Link and Ghirahim back to reality. Looking around, Link could see tall blue pillars, and they were surrounded by tall mountains of rock. Another thing was that it was raining,  _ hard _ , so hard Link was surprised he hadn’t noticed it before. “Up top, above you!” The voice called again, and Link and Ghirahim both looked up one of the pillars to see a rather tall, red figure standing atop it. With a mighty jump, the figure flipped before landing on the ground with ease. Upon closer inspection, Link realized that the figure in front of him was a Zora.

A quite handsome one, at that.

The Zora grinned, showing off all his pointy teeth while spreading out his arms. “Pardon the intrusion, but you are a Hylian, aren’t you? I was hoping for a moment, you would like to talk!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, thanks for 1k hits !! That's crazy !!

**Author's Note:**

> This is, like, the longest chapter I've ever written for any story in my life lmao. Anyways, welcome to my first LOZ + first AO3 fanfic !! I've been thinking about making this story for a while now, so I hope you guys enjoy! Please leave comments as I would really appreciate the feedback on what you guys think!


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